Square End
by AislinCeivun
Summary: With the lingering effects of Hekate's curse still sticking around, Jason and Pythagoras find themselves in a situation where closing their eyes against their mutual attraction is no longer an option. (set after 1x11) [3rd story of the SHoT series]
1. The Situation

(Available for reading on AO3 as well /with some graphics/. Link on my profile!)

**Title::** Square End

**Author::** AislinCeivun

**Fandom::** Atlantis (BBC)

**Pairing::** Jason/Pythagoras

**Rated::** NC-17

**Genre::** Angst/Drama, Romance, Friendship

**Disclaimer:: **Nope, still can't take any credits for the show – it's all BBC property.

**Warnings:: ** post – Hunger Pangs, slash, special ability – which at times kinda acts like sex pollen, friends to lovers, slow build, slow burn, pining, UST, masturbation, big gay crisis, bisexuality, self-esteem issues, body image issues, Hurt/Comfort, first time, smut, post 1x11

**A/N::** **Sequel to _Circle of Contemplation_, last instalment to the _Shapes of Tomorrow_ series.**

There are quite a few shout-outs to stuff from previous parts so refreshing them is recommended.

Million thanks to Lauren/**hercolourwasred** for still taking the time to beta-read for me! You're a goddess~ (L)

**Summary:: **

With the lingering effects of Hekate's curse still sticking around, Jason and Pythagoras find themselves in a situation where closing their eyes against their mutual attraction is no longer an option.

* * *

><p><strong>Square End<strong>

1.

The Situation

.

Pythagoras couldn't tear his eyes away from the shining droplet of grape juice that was sitting teasingly on Jason's lower lip. It had been quivering there for at least twenty seconds now, as if the sole reason of its existence was to make Pythagoras unable to recall a single thing about the problem he was supposed to be working on. Jason was listening to Hercules rant about a past adventure of his with an amused expression on his face, totally oblivious to the fact that he was subjecting Pythagoras to unbearable torture. Minutes passed until Jason started laughing and the droplet finally fell to its death. _Thank the gods, at last!_

However, if Pythagoras thought this was the end of his suffering, he was sadly mistaken.

"Oops," Jason murmured, raising wet fingers and smearing the remains of the sticky liquid across his mouth. His lips were soon the colour of ripe grapes, plump and tempting, and when even a pink tongue darted out to lick up the mess, Pythagoras couldn't suppress a groan.

_Of course_ they had heard him.

"Is everything alright?" Jason asked.

"Yes, of course." The mathematician forced his gaze to fall on the parchment spread out in front of him. "It's just… I can't seem to get this problem right."

Never mind that he couldn't remember what theory he was even testing right now. From the moment Jason had returned from washing up wearing only a pair of raggedy trousers that sat dangerously low on his hips, with his curly hair soaking wet and dripping water onto his shoulders, Pythagoras had been fighting an exceptionally stubborn hard-on. Even though he had got his fair share of drooling at sight of Jason's body in various unclad states over the course of the past few days, he still found himself affected by it.

He closed his eyes, trying to shove the image of a confused and naked Jason covered in feathers out of his mind, and stroked his fingers over the parchment lying on his desk.

Jason didn't notice Pythagoras' inner turmoil.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, there isn't. Don't mind me."

"Yeah, don't mind him," Hercules grunted, waving a hand at Pythagoras in a way that was rather familiar to the mathematician. It was a gesture his friend used often when he had enough of rants about geometry and wanted to express his general not-too-flattering opinion about the subject. Pythagoras had long learnt not to take offence. "I'm just getting to the good part. So there was this lass, sweet as you can get, thinking I'm a wealthy merchant on the verge of proposing to her. And then I thought, why break her heart? Sure, her father wanted to skin me alive, but she knew nothing about that! So I just went to her and…"

Pythagoras didn't pay any attention to Hercules' story. After trying to focus his thoughts on the parchment for several minutes and failing miserably, he resumed watching Jason from the corner of his eye. It was a bad – _very bad_ – idea, he was aware, but he couldn't help himself. He'd seen plenty of people eating grapes before, but none of them mesmerised him like Jason did.

Pythagoras swallowed around the hard lump in his throat Jason reached for another grape. His friend didn't eat grapes like normal people – gods, no. He pressed the berries to his mouth, broke the skin with his teeth and then sucked the juicy jelly out before tossing the remains in his mouth. It would have been a fairy distractive act to watch even if Pythagoras had been deaf, but with all the happy, slurping noises Jason added to the sight, it was outright _maddening._ And it had been going on for at least half an hour.

Pythagoras wondered which would run out sooner: the grapes in the bowl or his self-control.

Right now, the grapes appeared to be winning.

It certainly didn't help that Pythagoras was way too fascinated by the elegant curves of Jason's sticky fingers as they held the grapes It was far too easy to close his eyes and imagine the same fingers threading through his sweat-damp hair, cradling his face, brushing tears away from his cheeks. The phantom feeling of Jason's comforting touches stayed with him all the time, like they had taken root in his body, and Pythagoras often found himself reliving those moments of comfort. He had experienced them for only a couple of days while he nearly broke from the resurfacing of his old guilt, shame and terror… and yet it was apparently enough for him to develop an unhealthy addiction to Jason's close proximity.

Sometimes, he woke up at nights feeling unease without the heat of Jason's body soaking into his side. He hadn't suffered from nightmares anymore, yet he wished for Jason's hand to stroke his cheek and pull him close. Pythagoras wanted to bury his face into Jason's neck and inhale deeply to see if he really had the scent of _peace _and _safety_ or it was just something Pythagoras' mind had come up with. He wanted to feel kisses being pressed freely to his temple again.

A shiver raked through his body, and Pythagoras tore his eyes away, looking down at the desk.

The desire for these things was not a new development; if he wanted to be perfectly honest, he'd been wishing for them since day one. But the events following Arcas' reappearance had consequences Pythagoras didn't expect at all, and Jason spoiled him for good. It was difficult enough to keep a leash on his feelings even without knowing just how tender Jason could be, how safe Pythagoras felt in his arms or how calming it was to lean against Jason's chest.

Pythagoras had a hard time keeping his feelings in check after the incident with the Furies had come to pass – but even so he was unprepared for the utter _disaster_ that was a cursed Jason. Because, _really?_ The gods must have been determined to drive Pythagoras to an early grave, otherwise they wouldn't have tried to tempt him with a situation where he was forced to watch over a very naked Jason more times than he cared to admit. (Even now, with his eyes closed it was awfully easy to recall the sight of an embarrassed Jason stumbling into the house covered in dirt and feathers, or reaching for clothes from behind a rusty cabinet while averting his eyes.)

And the worst thing in all this? The cruel reality of Jason's love for Princess Ariadne being shoved directly into Pythagoras's face. Hard. So hard, in fact, that Pythagoras felt like his heart had been broken in two and now the tiny shards pressed into his lungs with every breath he took. His heart ached whenever he remembered Jason's frantic pleas not to tell the princess anything, or how asking about her was the first thing that came out of his mouth after Pythagoras cured him with the help of Hercules.

It hurt. Jealousy took deep roots behind his ribs and was busy tearing his soul apart with every waking hour. It burnt with the fierceness of fresh lava, keeping him awake at nights.

No matter how much Jason obviously cared for Pythagoras, he was in love with the princess – and there was not a damn thing Pythagoras could do about that.

Laughter filled his ears and Pythagoras looked up, glancing toward the table. After what happened with Medusa, it pleased his heart to see Hercules laughing again but it irked him that he wasn't able to join his friends whole-heartedly.

As if sensing his gaze, Jason turned back and looked straight at Pythagoras. The mathematician averted his eyes and dropped his gaze to the parchment once again, trying his best to look like he was deep in thoughts.

Well, he was – just not about the problem he was supposed to be working on.

His cheeks warmed up when he could still feel Jason's eyes on him even after several moments had passed, but he stubbornly refused to acknowledge his friend's searching gaze. Instead, he bent down and scribbled down some equations, humming softly for added effect. After a while the warm tingling under his skin stopped, letting him know that Jason finally turned back to Hercules.

Pythagoras' fingers stopped short on the parchment, and he stifled a quiet sigh.

This was something that happened a lot recently, and frankly, Pythagoras was fed up with it. Jason's obvious concern was nice, but it made everything so much harder for him!

Ever since they'd put the Furies-incident behind themselves, Jason was looking out for Pythagoras way more than before. His eyes followed the blond man, he asked after him, and whenever Pythagoras woke up from a nightmare about his past (which, thankfully, was happening less and less now) Jason was somehow always awake. He never asked questions and never offered to come and sleep with him anymore, but his willingness to comfort oozed from his body almost visibly.

Pythagoras knew he only had himself to blame. During his breakdown, he had revealed a lot more about himself than he had intended and it was little wonder that things couldn't go back to the exact way they had been before. If Jason concluded that Pythagoras was weak and needed constant care, someone to worry about him… then as humiliating as it was, Pythagoras couldn't do anything to counter it now. He only hoped that someday in the future, he could prove it to Jason that he wasn't _that _weak.

He hoped that one day, he would believe it himself.

The change was less obvious but still there in Hercules, too. His old friend was genuinely mortified to learn about all the secrets Pythagoras had buried deep inside and he felt betrayed. Their exchange in the oasis was one of the most difficult conversations Pythagoras had ever had; he had never wanted Hercules to learn about his past, but it was terrible to realise how much he'd hurt his friend with his silence.

Hercules was considerate. After learning of the abuse Pythagoras suffered by the hands of his father, he made an effort not to appear drunk in the mathematician's presence. Well, that was until the tragedy with Medusa happened and Hercules fell so hard into despair that Pythagoras feared the man might crumble completely under the weight of it. Pythagoras had known him for many years and he never believed him capable feeling such heartache. True, he never really thought that his friend's relationship with Medusa could work but… he hadn't ever imagined it would end like this, either.

Hercules numbed himself with alcohol and though it made Pythagoras wary, he couldn't blame Hercules for it. He was just worried.

Time passed, things had started to come together once again and their lives seemingly went back to normal. Only, all three of them had been aware of all the pain lurking behind their strong, stubborn fronts, waiting to spill out. Hercules, Pythagoras… even Jason, though he was the best at hiding his problems. But Pythagoras was no fool. He knew something was going on with Jason, and though he couldn't wrap his head around it, he had a feeling that sooner or later the man will trip over the edge.

He just hoped that when that happened, Pythagoras would be able to offer his help and comfort to his friend like Jason had for him.

"Pythagoras?"

Snapping his head up, the mathematician looked up sharply. He never realised how late it had gotten until he blinked and noticed all the shadows that fell on his desk. A quick glance at the window confirmed that the sun was setting, and he had been lost in his grim thoughts for more than an hour.

Hercules and Jason were watching him with odd expressions, and he tried to cover up his embarrassment with a small cough. "Yes?"

"You've been very quiet, and I swear that frown will become permanent if you keep it up any longer," Jason said, straightening his back. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Pythagoras shook his head, tried to force a smile on his lips. "No. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Hm. You should lie down and rest, then."

"I will." Pythagoras pushed his chair back and got up, crossing the distance to his friends. "And? What are you guys doing?"

"It makes my heart swell to know that I can have you undivided attention when I tell you to _listen._" Hercules crossed his arms and squinted up at Pythagoras with an overly gruff expression. The young man might've fallen for it had it not for his many years of experience and the fact that a smug smile quirked up the corners of Hercules' mouth. "Really, just for this, I should leave you out of it. Or collect your payment for myself. Gods know, I deserve it for the length I go for you!"

"Wait, you lost me. Did you manage to get a job for us?"

"Aye, and an easy pie at that. Pays well, too. Well. Concerning…" He shared a look with Jason, who stifled a chuckle and shook his head.

Pythagoras raised an eyebrow and looked from one man to the other. "What?"

Jason grinned up at Pythagoras. "_Romance in the night!_" he sing-songed. "We actually have to deliver a love token. Iole's father doesn't allow suitors near her, so Nileas wants us to sneak into their house at night and leave his present on her night desk. Should be easy enough."

"Iole? Isn't she the daughter of Hypatos? The wealthy merchant who lives in a fortress of a house near the palace?" Pythagoras refused to laugh when Jason's face fell faster than a drunken Hercules on the stairs. "I heard that he is a hard, merciless man who served in King Minos' army for many years, and his daughter is one of the most well-guarded maidens in Atlantis, second only to the princess herself. And this Nileas fellow of yours wants us to break into _his house_?"

Jason's mouth fell open and judging by the horrified expression on his face, Hercules had not privy him to these details.

"Hercules!"

"What?" Caught red-handed, Hercules shot a dark look at Pythagoras before turning back to Jason. "It's an honest, well-paying job. And we need the money! I was starting to turn into skins and bones and neither of you could come out with a solution, so either you 'fess up whatever supplies you still have or shut your holes and do the job."

Pythagoras and Jason remained silent, thought they shared a long, suffering look. If he noticed, Hercules didn't seem to mind it.

"I tell you, it's a great offer. We have sneaked around before. Fought off guards plenty of times. Hell, it can't be harder than getting into palace now, does it? And it probably won't take us more than an hour. Maybe two, but that's pushing it. And Nileas is willing to pay _twenty drachmas_!"

That was a lot of money. Pythagoras's frown deepened; it couldn't have been an 'easy pie of a job' if Nileas would pay so much for it.

"Okay, okay," Jason said, raising his hands. "We get it. Just… next time, give a guy some warning, alright? I prefer knowing these things _before _invading the house of some crazy, powerful daddy."

"So you want to go with it?" Pythagoras asked, surprised.

"Well, at this point there really isn't much we can do. I mean, Hercules is right: we _do _need the money. I don't want to get so close to starving again that I might desecrate another shrine or something."

He said it with a small shrug and a tentative smile, yet a shiver run through Pythagoras' spine. "Fine. If you think it's a good idea, I trust your decision. But surely it's not a three-man job?"

"Actually, it is," Hercules said. He sat back and scrubbed his jaw, scraping one day's worth of stubble around his smug grin. "Men such as Hypatos have really huge houses. It shouldn't be too hard to climb the walls but the windows are so high up Jason will probably need someone to prop him up. Cue, me. And if I'm busy playing step-stool for him then someone else has to take watch and guard the place until he returns." He pointed his gaze at Pythagoras and raised an eyebrow.

Jason didn't let Pythagoras react. "Why am I the one only one who has to go inside?"

"Well you're the acrobatic one, aren't you? And would you rather Pythagoras went with you just to watch your back as you work? Come on, don't be a baby!"

"Don't worry, Jason," Pythagoras said, turning to his friend. "Whatever happens, we won't leave you there."

"Actually," Hercules interrupted, "if something _does_ happen it would make more sense to just leave him there and go back for him later when no one expects it." At the glare of his friends, he shrugged innocently. "What? It's true."

"Okay, forget it. When does he want us to deliver this… love token?"

"Tomorrow night."

Pythagoras nodded. "Alright. Then I suggest we all go and see the place tomorrow before making plans. It wouldn't do good to attempt this without certain preparations."

They all agreed on that. Pythagoras wasn't entirely happy with this job but even he had to admit that after the disaster they'd made of their last job (_thank you for that by the way, cursed Jason_) it was little wonder that people had been wary to pay for their services. And though they hadn't been dancing around the edge of starvation this time, he really didn't want to go back there again.

As if on cue, Jason's stomach gave a loud grumble.

Hercules laughed but Pythagoras just said, "Right, it is dinner time. I believe we still have some cheese to go with the bread."

"Bread. Right." Jason closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, shooting a longing looks toward the balcony. "So nice to eat bread while the neighbours are feasting on beef stew."

Pythagoras frowned – he couldn't smell anything like that – but as he started for the kitchen he arrived to an abrupt halt. Jason had started stretching carelessly with his arms thrown up as if trying to reach the ceiling and _dear gods_ the sight was mesmerising. Pythagoras couldn't take his eyes off the man. Still half-naked, muscles flexed and moved under smooth, tanned skin and Pythagoras felt like he'd been slapped in the face by all the gorgeous angles and perfect lines that made up Jason's body. He swallowed hard when his mouth started to water, and a blush crept onto his face when the stirring heat still lingering in his guts flared up with the force of a thousand suns.

He'd seen Jason naked plenty of times. So why in the name of the gods did he _still_ have this reaction?

Jason's eyes snapped open and Pythagoras was pinned down by his friend's gaze. Jason looked surprised and Pythagoras could just imagine the kind of face he must've made – cheeks caught on fire, eyes huge and still, mouth slack and breathing too quick to be normal…

The room suddenly felt too hot for his comfort. He wet his lips and turned on his heels, mumbling something about washing up because he felt filthy, grabbed the bowl and sponge from the shelf and dashed for his room.

As soon as he pulled the curtains back behind him, he put the bowl down and stood unmoving in front of the wardrobe for several minutes. After taking several long, deep breaths to calm his crazy heart, he leant forward and pressed his forehead against the cool wall.

He was on fire, his face aflame with shame and his guts squirming with burning arousal. Turns out he hadn't lied: he _was _filthy. No righteous man would look at his friend and have such shameless thoughts about him.

Oh but the thoughts Pythagoras had! Even though it was a disgrace, even though Jason was his friend who had already given his heart to someone else… all of that didn't seem to matter. Pythagoras _wanted_, and there was no stopping these wants.

If only it was bodily pleasures he sought, it would've been easy enough to cure – but he knew for a fact that it wasn't the case.

Once – only once – when he was sorrowful and desperate enough, he went to find Thelamon. The man was the owner of a respectable pleasure house dedicated to offering the company of boys to those seeking it. Pythagoras shared some history with him back from his early days in Atlantis, and although he and Thelamon hadn't talked in three years and the man now had an eromenos, he didn't turn Pythagoras down. They were fully aware that if the truth came to light it would shame both of them (especially Pythagoras, who at his age should have gone there as a _patron_ and not as some begging whore) so they never mentioned it outside the room.

But it was fine, because Thelamon didn't turn him down. Without asking too many sensitive questions, he pushed Pythagoras face-down onto the bed and fucked him like he was desirable. Young Nikides sat at one of the corners with his legs crossed and watched them nonchalantly, sometimes moaning or crying out for the sake of the other residents when Pythagoras couldn't hold back his own noises. They all had their images to maintain, after all.

Release was good and he felt sated after, but his soul? It ached more than before. Pythagoras thanked Thelamon and left a small gift for Nikides, but as he left the establishment, he firmly resolved not to return again. Not until the matters of his heart were settled.

Many months had passed since then and his heart was still not settled. Even now his body was flushed, restless, and he knew there was no release from this.

Pythagoras striped off and washed himself clean with the sponge that was so cold from the water it made goose bumps rise all over his skin, yet the burning heat persisted. He bit on his lip when he pressed the wet sponge against his hard shaft but the touch only made his insides coil and squirm more.

Ridiculous. How could he have so much control over his mind and so little over his body? Pythagoras didn't want to give in to the urges and yet he found himself wrapping a hand around his aching member.

At the first stroke of his hand, his cock twitched hard and heat flared up in his stomach with renewed force. It spread out everywhere in his body like a hot liquid, pulling his skin tighter and leaving him breathless. Near sobbing, he wet his lips and closed his eyes.

Best to get this over with as quickly as possible.

He didn't want to think about anything in particular but as soon as he started stroking himself with intent, the ghost feeling of fingers threading through his hair returned, making his scalp tingle. He could feel gentle brushes across his cheeks, a warm palm resting on the side of his neck, dry, soft lips being pressed against his temple. Pythagoras shivered and choked on a ragged moan, then bit on his lip hard to stifle the noise so hard it nearly drew blood.

No matter how casual they had been, he missed Jason's touches. Ever since the last time they had slept together on the night of their return to Atlantis, Jason had avoided physical contact with him. It was understandable – Pythagoras himself told the man that it was embarrassing – but still… Maybe the reason it pained him so much was because Jason was so convincing when saying that it was not something to be embarrassed about, that he didn't mind it. He seemed so sure of himself that against his better judgement, Pythagoras believed him.

It was a mistake.

Now Jason was embarrassed, probably regretted the whole thing and didn't want to touch Pythagoras any longer. He outright flinched whenever Pythagoras so much as brushed against him. Initially, it wasn't that bad – but during the past couple of days following Hekate's curse? It reached a whole new level of awkwardness. It was as if the mere sight of Pythagoras was too much for Jason; now he rarely met his eyes. And although Pythagoras wanted to make it better, he had no idea how to do that. This was just another thing to be added to the pile of regrets he already had.

Pythagoras swallowed hard. His eyes were stinging, and he felt so terrible he couldn't believe his desire was still persisting. Pleasuring himself didn't feel good. On the physical side, maybe, but it was nowhere near to the bubbling warmth he had shared with Naos in his youth – back then when things like this had been easy and uncomplicated.

If he'd known it would be like this, he would've drowned himself rather than to fell in love.

Trying to focus his thoughts, he recalled lying close to Jason, strong arms being wrapped tight around his hips, warm breath gusting over his cheek. He thought about the way Jason's dark hair curled against his forehead, the warm smile he wore while talking about his father, and the way he looked at Pythagoras when telling him that he wasn't worthless. _"You are perfect the way you are_," he said.

It was a sentence that Pythagoras had recalled more times than he could remember. He wanted to burn the words into his mind, play them on an endless loop in his head, cradle them to his heart and wrap his soul with them until they melted right into his being so nothing could take them away from him, ever.

"_There is nothing wrong with you. There never was. You are perfect the way you are."_

He didn't need to think about anything sexual. The memory of Jason's soft touch and earnest voice was enough to take him over the edge. Climax took Pythagoras without preamble and it was harsh, raw and oddly unsatisfying.

Breathing hard, Pythagoras hastily finished cleaning himself up and put on fresh clothes. He waited until the warmth left his cheeks before stepping out of his room.

Darkness fell by the time he returned to his friends, candles lighting up the room. Hercules was already eating but Jason hadn't touched his portion, apparently waiting for Pythagoras to return. The gesture made him smile.

It fell away however the moment Jason let out a thin noise and snapped his head up at the approaching mathematician. The cup he was raising to his mouth fell from his hand, splashing water everywhere.

"Hey! Watch what you're doing, boy!" Hercules growled angrily but Jason didn't pay him any attention. He just stared at Pythagoras with wide eyes… and then flushed bright red.

Fear and worry prickled along Pythagoras' body. What was it? Had he missed a spot? Maybe he was still flushed? They couldn't have any inkling as to what he'd done in his room, could they?

His lips moved but he couldn't find his voice. Hercules kept calling Jason's name until he finally snapped out of whatever shock had come over him.

"Um…" His voice was rough. He turned his head toward the ground, and yes, there it was again – he refused to meet Pythagoras' eyes. "Actually, I'm not that hungry. I think I'll just lie down instead."

Hercules raised his eyebrows. "_Now?_ The sun's just set. It's rather early."

"I know. I know, it's just…" Jason shrugged and raised his head a bit but he didn't get higher than Pythagoras' chin before averting his eyes once again. He shrugged, and Pythagoras felt a sharp pain in his chest when Jason stood up and left without turning back. "Excuse me."

The mathematician kept his eyes on Jason as the man stopped at his corner, got into bed with his back to them and pulled the blankets so high up that only the top of his head was left visible. He didn't move, and after a while Pythagoras turned back to his plate, feeling sick. He had no appetite left.

Hercules tapped the table quietly to get his attention, and when Pythagoras glanced up at him, he gestured toward Jason's still form and spread his arms out in an obvious question. _What's wrong with him?_

Pythagoras shook his head and refused to voice any of his fears.

* * *

><p>xxx<p>

* * *

><p>Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.<p>

Jason pulled the blankets tighter around his body and tried willing his heart to stop beating quite so much. It was a futile attempt; his ribs felt like cracking open from all the crazy drumming that was going on beneath. It certainly didn't help that he felt awful for marching off like that without explaining himself (although how on earth he should've done that without revealing _everything_ was beyond him) because… that hurt look on Pythagoras' face, Christ! It was a terrible thing to see. But Jason couldn't risk staying a second longer. Not with the scent of release sitting so heavy in the air that it made his insides pull into a tight knot of unease.

Pythagoras had just jacked off.

_Pythagoras._ Had just _Jacked. Off._

Which, in itself, was not that shocking – he was a guy, after all. But Jason knew without doubt that his friend had jacked off after spending two solid hours gazing at him with fucking hearts in his eyes like some lovesick teen, practically oozing waves of _wantlovedesire_ and–

Jason bit on his tongue to stop himself from groaning out loud.

Bloody hell, how was he supposed to deal with this? Knowing about Pythagoras' feelings for him had been hard enough to process, yet nothing could ever stay simple, could it? He had to go and do something stupid like _getting cursed_ so he was now stuck with the freaking superhuman senses of a _dog._ Or werewolf. Or whatever.

No matter how much distance he'd put between them when walking away, he was pretty sure he could've tasted the lingering musk on his tongue if he had done so much as lick his lips. There was no way to describe what he'd felt, what he'd _sensed_.

Jason had spent a couple of nights running around as a rabid dog but when Pythagoras made the cure for him, he had thought that would be the end of it. But no. For whatever reason, the heightened senses remained.

He hadn't noticed until the first night following the incident. He never turned again but found his body restless – and when the sun set, he was assaulted by a sea of new and strange sensations. Smell, hearing, vision, reflexes… When he hadn't turned into an animal he planned on telling Pythagoras and Hercules about this but as soon as morning came, the weirdness washed away without a trace. Jason figured it was just some lingering post-effect that needed more time to disappear.

Only, his senses sharpened again the next night. Jason freaked out the moment he could hear the mice squirming under the house, smell Hercules' sweat from the next room and see the small wrinkles of exhaustion around Pythagoras' eyes from the other side of the living room.

It was weaker than the night before, though, and that was Jason's clue. Whatever remained of the curse inside him, it was slowly fading away. He was sure that it would pass completely in a few days' time, but that meant he had to struggle through a few nights before that.

He thought it wouldn't be hard. Oh, how wrong he was.

He was damn thankful that he'd come to know of Pythagoras' feelings for him beforehand because he was sure he'd have shat himself from shock if he had learnt it from the near constant stream of heat and desire rolling off of the mathematician. Whenever he was close to Pythagoras, Jason couldn't help but notice how the man's heart-rate picked up, how his breath turned shallow and uneven, how blood crept onto his face and made pink blossom on his cheeks. His gorgeous sky blue eyes turned dark and hazy and his _scent_, goddamn it! His entire body warmed up and started oozing waves of a strange, heavy _something_ that never failed to make Jason's insides coil tightly. It was a feeling almost like arousal but… not exactly that.

It didn't sit well with Jason that he had no way of knowing if he was like that simply because his body corresponded to Pythagoras' proximity and the heated sensations he gave off, or it was something he was experiencing by himself.

He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to hurt Pythagoras but he didn't want to reject him, either. Jason came to accept Pythagoras' love for him during the time between The Furies Incident and The Hekate Incident, and he treasured and cherished the feeling. He had had some girlfriends and casual lovers back in London but he didn't think any of them had felt quite this way about him. But that didn't mean Jason was ready to return it. Especially seeing as his feelings toward Ariadne hadn't dimmed, either.

Jason was stalling. He knew it, and Hercules knew it as well. The man called him out on it not long ago; he didn't beat around the bush and had told Jason that he should outright reject Pythagoras if he wasn't capable of returning his feelings.

Jason got mad. He didn't want to do that. He _loved_ Pythagoras. He never had anyone he felt this close to, _ever._

But… surely it wasn't romantic love? He couldn't imagine himself sleeping with a man. The thought made his insides curl uncomfortably.

Only… this was _Pythagoras._ Not the faceless bastard who made Jason's Math lessons a nightmare. This was the brilliant, fragile, strong and gentle man who was awkward and scrawny and had the biggest heart and brightest smile that Jason had ever seen. Who always put others' needs first, who hid his dark demons away, who wanted nothing more than to be loved and accepted.

Jason never thought of himself as the kind of man who wanted to pull another man into his arms but the last few weeks made him realise that he would be perfectly content doing just that to Pythagoras for the rest of eternity. He would be happy to wrap him in his embrace and shield him from all the harm and pain nobody protected him from before.

Up until a few days ago Jason could explain it away as being concerned for his best friend. Then Hekate happened and even with the curse _mostly_ gone, trouble just kept slapping him in the face.

Last night marked the first occasion when Jason looked at Pythagoras and was nearly overcome with the urge to pull him close and kiss his mouth.

The force of that sudden want kicked the breath out of his lungs, and Jason had to mumble an awkward excuse to get away from the mathematician. It did him little good, however; even from his corner of the house he could scent Pythagoras as if he was standing right there beside him. He knew that Pythagoras worried about his odd behaviour and Jason had a suspicion that his friend probably interpreted it as embarrassment, rejection or worse.

Jason wanted to comfort him and reassure him that it was neither… but didn't. Couldn't.

Last night he wanted to kiss Pythagoras because that's what Pythagoras was probably thinking about. Jason remembered that his friend's heart was beating a crazy rhythm, he had held his breath, his body had heated up and started omitting that strange, heavy and intoxicating fragrance… Surely that's why the mood caught Jason and he responded in kind.

But those were not his own emotions. He was responding to Pythagoras' desires because of the lingering effect of Hekate's damned curse. But it wasn't _him._

… Or was it?

Jason stifled a groan as he turned around in the bed and pushed his fist hard into the mattress. Glancing up, he noticed how the main room had quietened completely. Hercules' door was closed and Pythagoras, too, had retired for the night. Even though everything was pitch black, Jason could make out the person lying on the bed perfectly. Pythagoras had pulled the curtains of the doorway closed but Jason could still see him playing absently with his fingers. Apparently, he couldn't sleep, either.

Jason felt bad about it. He should have made it clear that his abrupt departure had nothing to do with Pythagoras; that the problem lay solely with Jason.

Had he been in his right mind, Jason would have got up from the bed and gone to Pythagoras, reassuring him that he shouldn't blame himself for the odd situation they've found themselves in. But Jason couldn't bring himself to do it. Not until he sorted out this mess on his own.

His greatest worry right now was the fact that he kept thinking about kissing Pythagoras. The first time it had happened was last night when he was obviously under the effect of the curse. But once the thought popped into his head, it took root and there was nothing to make it go away.

All day today, he kept thinking about it and it drove him crazy. He was startled to find himself staring absently at his friend's mouth, wondering if his lips would feel as soft as he recalled. (How long ago was that, again? It happened on the very first day they met. By now Jason was aware that Hercules was merely having him on and there was no such tradition in Atlantis as a 'good luck kiss'… but still, he didn't mind it.) He watched the way Pythagoras's throat moved when he swallowed, and felt something warm moving restlessly in his belly whenever a pink tongue darted out to run over dry lips.

Jason couldn't wrap his head around this sudden fascination. Surely, the curse couldn't affect him at daytime too? He had not detected any heightened senses so the only logical conclusion he could draw was that he kept thinking about kissing Pythagoras because he _wanted_ to be kissing him.

Except, that didn't feel right, either. What if it was all because of the curse? What if he gave in to the urges and kissed Pythagoras, only to realise later that it was not right? What if he regretted it? He would sooner cut his tongue out than giving Pythagoras hope only to change his mind later on and thus break his heart.

No. He wouldn't risk that.

So Jason had kept his odd, treacherous thoughts to himself and done his best to put some distance between Pythagoras and him, even at the cost of upsetting the man. He told himself he would make it right later when the damn situation was over.

But he really hadn't anticipated that Pythagoras would pine over him all afternoon (_hell_), get aroused from the sight of a half-naked Jason stretching (_bloody hell_) then actually go and jerk off in his room like a horny teenager who can't control his urges (_fuck fuck FUCK_) and seven hells, Jason had to sprint away because he nearly got hard on the spot. Hell, he was on the verge of getting hard right now just from thinking about it.

Actually, scratch that. He_ was_ hard. Painfully so. He could feel it throbbing between his legs; an aching heat that demanded his immediate attention.

_Fuck._

Jason refused to touch himself. It wouldn't have been right. He'd never wanked to fantasies about Ariadne; he could certainly refrain from wanking to fantasies about Pythagoras, too.

The fact that this was the very first time he popped a boner for a guy raised a whole new pile of questions, none of which Jason wanted to deal with right now. He knew he was freaking out but he couldn't help it.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the demanding urge subsided and he was left with a tired ache in his groin and a slow burn in his guts. He stopped biting at his lip and turned onto his back, gazing up at the ceiling. If he was quiet enough he could pick up the even sound of Pythagoras' soft snoring from the other room; if he strained himself just a little bit, he could hear the slow beat of his heart. His friend didn't emitted waves of heat and desire anymore, just his normal, usual scent that brought a surprising amount of comfort to Jason.

Jason inhaled deeply and let the familiar scent wash over him and fill up his lungs, lulling his body into some hard-earned rest.

Even as he slowly succumbed to sleep, his thoughts kept going back to tomorrow. He knew he had to pull his shit together if he didn't want to fuck things up royally. He needed to give some sort of explanation to Pythagoras or else the poor guy would never stop blaming himself. Then, Jason would have to come up with a plan on how to survive their night out without revealing the presence of those blasted super-senses _and _messing up his friendship with Pythagoras. He didn't want to experience a repeat of tonight.

When he recalled the last look Pythagoras had given him before Jason stormed off in panic, something twisted sharply in his chest.

He never ever wanted to see such a hurt expression on his friend's face again – especially knowing that _he_ was the one who put it there.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! **

**Square End is considerably longer than the previous parts of the series so I broke it down into 6 chapters. WILL UPDATE EVERY FRIDAY. **

**I know it's been a while, but I hope you'll still enjoy reading it~ Reviews are welcomed and treated as shining gemstones^^**


	2. Turmoil of the Heart

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2.

Turmoil of the Heart

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Jason could hardly get a wink of sleep that night and when he finally did doze off, it was nearly dawn. Had he still been in London he would have slept in until noon to make up for it, but the guy without a room did not have that option. Pythagoras was usually an early bird but today even Hercules got up early. Their chattering made it impossible for Jason to stay in bed.

"Good morning, princess." Hercules greeted him before turning back to Pythagoras. "As I was saying, we should check out Hypatos' house soon, when the day is still early. It's not too far from the marketplace and its busy this time of the day so we wouldn't raise any suspicions - especially if we do buy something."

"I agree," Pythagoras said. "Also, we _really_have to buy things." He raised an empty basket. "Save for the bag of fruits, we are completely out of food. I also need to purchase some scrolls and chalks eventually, but food is obviously our priority. Have you got any money left, Hercules?"

"What do you think?"

Pythagoras pressed his lips together. "Right. Well, I still have enough for a loaf of bread; that will have to do for today. Tomorrow we can buy the rest after we get our money from Nileas."

"Actually, Hercules does have a few coins left." Both of his friends turned toward Jason, who looked Hercules in the eye. "You left them with me, remember? On the day I first turned. After… you know." But the man just frowned, proving that no, he didn't remember at all. "Pythagoras found you in the tavern the day before. You really don't remember?"

Jason didn't want to say more - he had a suspicion that it would make Hercules embarrassed. Thankfully however, the man's eyes widened and he let out a short "oh", the confusion on his face clearing.

Hercules left the money with Jason because he hadn't trusted himself with not spending it on alcohol, he'd told him as much. His grief over the loss of Medusa had driven him into depression and he couldn't cope without drinking heavily. Although Jason could understand his pain, he knew it was not the right way - but no matter what he or Pythagoras had told the man, Hercules kept drinking away his sorrows.

But on the day when Jason stole that meat from Hekate's shrine, Pythagoras went into the tavern to try and reason with Hercules once again. It was futile, and Pythagoras was uneasy and restless for the rest of the day. After Hercules sobered up, he noticed it too and it didn't take a genius two put two and two together and realise that the visit to the tavern and Hercules' state had made something flip in the young mathematician. He didn't revert back to the state he was in before, thank god, but still…

It was apparently enough for Hercules to come to his senses. The next day he had pulled Jason away and tossed the rest of his money into Jason's hand, mumbling about how he had to make sure it wouldn't be spent on drinks.

"Ah, yes. I seem to recall now. Thanks for the safekeeping, friend." Hercules locked eyes with Jason from across the table with a look that clearly said '_Don't mention the details to Pythagoras._' Jason nodded. He wasn't going to anyway.

Pythagoras took silver coins that Jason retrieved from his pouch and hummed. "Still not enough for meat but we could get eggs and some more cheese. Thank you, Hercules. For once, you have thought ahead."

"Don't I always?" But Jason could see his embarrassment hiding behind his laugh. "Put ropes on that list of yours, too. We'll probably need them tonight."

"Ropes?" Jason asked, blinking.

"Ropes, yes. Or how do you propose to climb up on the wall? Also, it's better to be safe than landing in the arms of the guards."

"Guys, look," Pythagoras said, raising his arms. "I think we should just take a look around and plan out these things _after_, alright?"

Jason turned to face Pythagoras, and the man dropped his gaze immediately. Jason frowned, but his friend kept glancing between the floor and Hercules while saying, "Let's just eat and then head out. We can continue the discussion after we checked Hypatos' home. And Hercules, do you have the present we have to deliver?"

"Yeah, Nileas gave it to me yesterday. It's in my room."

"Good. Let's have breakfast, then."

He walked past Jason without raising his head, and the only contact they had was when Pythagoras' shoulder brushed briefly against Jason's arm. Jason swallowed hard and looked after his friend, a heavy feeling settling down in the pit of his stomach.

Pythagoras didn't make eye contact with him this morning at all. Not once.

Hercules didn't seem to pick up on this. He kept chatting throughout breakfast, not picking up on the awkward silence surrounding Pythagoras and Jason. As soon as they finished eating, Pythagoras sprang up and took away the dishes, then came back saying that they should get going.

Jason kept digging his gaze into Pythagoras' back all the way to the market but the man either didn't notice or deliberately paid no attention to it. When he took a good look at the mathematician later on, Pythagoras' face didn't give anything away - though Jason thought he could detect a faint flush high on his cheeks.

Jason let his friends handle buying their supplies and instead wandered around, musing about what would be the best way to pull Pythagoras aside and explain himself to him.

He didn't want to confess that he'd been keeping silent about some effects of Hekate's curse sticking around, but he was even more afraid of confessing to knowing about Pythagoras' feelings. He'd known about them for some time, but resolved not to say anything until he knew for sure what to do about it. He had no idea however that it would come between him and Pythagoras.

He should tell him everything, Jason figured, but then… it would be even more awkward. If Pythagoras knew that Jason was aware of his love for him, the mathematician would no doubt be mortified. He would claim that it didn't matter, swear that it'll pass and ask Jason to forget about it. Their friendship would suffer and eventually Hercules would have to pick a side. Jason had no false assumptions as to who Hercules would choose to stick with. Jason, too, would want him to be there for Pythagoras.

Argh, but it was all so depressing! Jason _didn't_ want their friendship to end. He wanted them to be together always, forever. He wasn't sure if he would part with them even if he had the means to go back to London. London was no longer his home. Here, the place he shared with Pythagoras and Hercules - _that_was his home.

He had to find a way to talk this out with Pythagoras. He _had to._

* * *

><p>When they finished business on the market, they headed to Hypatos' house. Jason acknowledged with no small amount of fright that Pythagoras' previous description of the building had been absolute spot-on: it really was like a fortress. The two-floored villa was surrounded by massive walls on three sides and a smaller, heavily decorated marble wall from the front. With the ornate pillars supporting the main gate, the fanciful balcony on the second floor and the statues standing in the wide garden (which the trio could only get glimpses of from the top of a nearby tree), it was like a strange hybrid between a palace and a fortress.<p>

Hercules let out an impressed whistle as Pythagoras and Jason gawked at the sight. "Now_this_ is a place I'd be satisfied to live in. Would be fitting of a hero such as my famed self, don't you think?"

"Dream on, Hercules." Pythagoras squinted as he raked over the place with his eyes. "There are many guards around the gates, and the walls are too high. And do you see how the top of them seem to glitter in the light? I think those are glass shards. People sometimes put spikes or other sharp objects on the top of the walls to wound potential trespassers."

"Fantastic," Jason said with a sigh. "Well, we should have been expecting this if Nileas is willing to pay that much for sneaking in. Are we sure we want to go through with this?"

"Yes," Hercules said without hesitation. When the others didn't say anything, he narrowed his eyes at them. "Come on guys, don't fret. We've done worst. And with twenty drachmas in our pockets, we won't have to worry about food for weeks. Now, look." He raised his hand and pointed to a huge window on the second floor. "Nileas said that's Iole's room. Hypatos is cautious about thieves who would climb up the walls so there is no leverage beside the balcony, and that opens right from his bedroom. And there are no trees nearby from which you could jump over, either."

Jason and Pythagoras waited patiently for the rest, but when Hercules didn't resume talking, Jason finally asked. "So you suggest…?"

"What? No, I've got no suggestions." Hercules' eyebrows jumped high and he looked at the others as if they were stupid. "I was merely getting the facts together for you. You're the smart ones; it's your job to figure out how to get in."

"Thanks, Hercules, you're a great help." Pythagoras rolled his eyes, but then the small wrinkle that always meant he was brainstorming appeared on his forehead. "Well, if there's no way to get directly to Iole's room from the outside, I guess you'll have to do it from the inside."

Before Jason could say anything, Pythagoras pointed to a large window a few feet up to the right side of the balcony. "If you stay low, you can get to the side of the balcony without being seen. You may have to use some acrobatics but I believe you could get onto the window-sill there. The shutters are old and even if there's a lock you could pick it. If you're inside, then Iole's bedroom is, what, two or three rooms away? You leave the token then come right out the way you went in."

"Yeah, you make it sound so easy. You're not the one who's going to be sneaking inside."

Pythagoras met Jason's eyes for the first time since last night, and he looked abashed. "Jason, nobody expects you to do anything that you're not comfortable with. It's extremely dangerous and it doesn't sit well with me, either. But whatever you decide, we're with you. We won't leave you in trouble."

Jason turned to look back at the house. It was a long time before he spoke. "I'll try my best. It's not like we're going to steal anything. We're just leaving a small present for the lady." A small laugh suddenly burst out from him. "Though, I have to say… Hercules, I fear this buddy of yours doesn't have a chance."

"Seeing as to how he's a humble tailor with moderate skills, I'd say you're pretty much right about that, my friend."

"All right, let's get moving," Pythagoras said after a few moments. "We'll going to look suspicious if we stay here for any longer. We can work out the rest at home."

They were planning for more than an hour before Hercules finally had enough and said that they wouldn't get any smarter from talking out every bit of possibility. He went out after lunch to 'get some air', leaving Pythagoras and Jason alone in the house.

Jason figured it was as good of a time to approach Pythagoras as any.

"Hey, Pythagoras? Do you have a minute?"

The man was leaning over a parchment full of scribbles, most of which didn't make any sense to Jason, but hearing the quiet question made him flinch as if Jason had slapped him. Jason could see his throat working as the blond man glanced up before dropping his eyes.

"Yes. What is it?"

"I just, uh. Wanted to apologise."

Now_that_ made Pythagoras meet his eyes. "For what?"

"For yesterday. I assume that's why you're pissed at me. But believe me, it was honestly not my intention to upset you by walking awa-"

"Pissed?" Pythagoras cut in, sounding surprised. "Jason, I'm not _pissed_ at you."

"You're not? But then why have you been giving me the cold shoulder all day?"

Pythagoras stared at Jason for a couple of moments without reply. He put the pencil he was holding down and turned in his chair, facing Jason completely. He wore such a serious expression that something prickled nervously under Jason's skin. Not wanting to tower over his friend, he grabbed a chair from the table and pulled it over, dropping onto it so they were at the same height.

"I have been acting the way I have so _I_would not upset_you_. With all that happened not just yesterday but during the past couple of days, I could only come to the conclusion that something I have done was either embarrassing or upsetting you. And you know, it's good that you have come to me because I really think that we need to talk about this." He raised his head and Jason was startled by sight of his clear blue eyes. "Jason, what is the deal with you lately? One moment you act concerned and seek my company, then the next you avoid me like a plague and refuse to look me in the eye. If I have done something to offend you I apologise, but-"

"No!" Jason shook his head, heart throbbing behind his ribs. "No, you haven't done anything wrong. I'm so sorry - I had no idea my behaviour made you jump to the wrong conclusions. But this isn't about you, I swear. I mean, it's not _because of_ you."

"But… I don't understand. If it's not about me, then what is it about?"

Pythagoras' eyes were wide, and Jason could see worry and fear passing through them in dark flashes. It felt like a punch to his gut. He never wanted Pythagoras to feel this way.

"And it's not just now. It intensified recently, yes, but you've been acting strange ever since we got back from Helios. Is it…" Voice trailing off, his gaze dropped low for a second like he was afraid of posing his question. But he did it anyway. "Is it something that I've done? Or something I've said? I regret to admit that I was rather depressed during that time, and while I am immensely grateful for the comfort and support you have shown me, I never wanted to make you feel bothered by it. I just… I wish…"

Fuck. Pythagoras was blaming _himself._ He convinced himself that Jason was acting cold towards him because he had opened up too much, shown too much of himself. He regretted sharing his secrets with Jason because he thought it was the reason he was losing his friend.

He shouldn't regret trusting him. Jason didn't. He wouldn't change a second of their late-night conversations.

Jason felt like a jerk for not returning this trust and hiding behind a wall to deal with his insecurities alone. His actions clearly added to Pythagoras' own insecurities and he should have known better.

He reached forward and put a hand on Pythagoras' shoulder, squeezing it gently and ignoring how the man jumped from his touch.

"Listen, Pythagoras, and listen well. _You have done nothing wrong._ There is _nothing_you could say or do that would make me like you any less." He waited a moment to let that sink in. "I mean it. _Nothing._ It applies to what we've shared on the way home. And if I have been acting strange, it's because of something in _me_, okay? It's on me, not you, and I would like to share it with you but I can't, not yet. I have to sort it out for myself. But I'm sorry I made you worry. You didn't need to."

Pythagoras was staring at him with wide eyes. His lips parted a bit but Jason refused to get distracting by the sight. Instead, he let his hand fall from his friend's shoulder only to grasp his hand in a reassuring hold. It didn't last more than three seconds but it made Pythagoras swallow and his own palm tingle from warmth.

"And… just, you know you're important to me, right? I won't let anything ruin our friendship."

Jason felt hot and he'd wager there was a blush spreading on his cheeks. Pythagoras coloured too, and dropped his gaze to the hands resting in his lap. His fingers curled on themselves.

"You are important to me, too," he whispered, the words so quiet Jason could barely catch them. Then, on a firmer voice, he added, "I don't like that you are barricading yourself to hide your troubles. But I'm happy it's not because I inadvertently made you hate me."

Bloody hell. How could Jason have not seen before that Pythagoras was in love with him? It was right in front of him, this whole time, staring him in the face - bloody_obvious_ now that he knew what to look for.

He wished he had an answer for him.

"Right. We're, uh… We're good then, right?"

Jason flinched at the sound of his overly hopeful voice - but Pythagoras smiled, and it brightened up the room so much that Jason forgot about his embarrassment.

"Yes. We're good." He frowned a bit. "I do wish you would tell me about what troubles you, but I understand the need to sort things out alone. But I'm always here if you want to talk."

"I know. Thank you."

He smiled back at Pythagoras - and the moment grew long, neither of them looking away from the other. Finally catching himself, Jason mumbled some excuse about wanting to clear his head and went to the balcony room. Pythagoras didn't say anything to stop him, and Jason wasn't sure if he was happy with that or not.

Once he was alone behind pulled curtains, Jason braced his hands on the balcony ledge and bowed his head, taking several deep breaths. He didn't understand why his heart was racing as if he'd just run his arse off.

This entire situation was messy and he just wanted to figure things out and put an end to it. It was taking its toll not only on him but apparently on Pythagoras as well. His current superhuman problem by the courtesy of a blasted goddess aside, it all came down to one question that should have been easy enough to answer.

_Would he be able to start a romantic relationship with Pythagoras or not?_

An easy question alright - one that a few months back Jason could have answered without hesitation. Now, however, it was anything but easy.

He loved Pythagoras. He wasn't sure if he was _in love_ or not, but there was no doubt in his mind that only his feelings for Ariadne could compare to the amount of love he harboured for the man. And he wasn't mistaking it with a friendship-inspired, brothers-in-arms kind of love - the sort which belonged to Hercules, for example. It was _different._

Ever since realising Pythagoras' love for him, Jason had spent a lot of time trying to measure and compare what he felt for Pythagoras and what he felt for Ariadne. They were of the same kind, an emotion that pulled his insides tighter - but while Ariadne's was a gentle flow of warmth spreading through his heart and making his skin tingle, Pythagoras' was a searing stream of heat filling up his ribcage: terrifying and all-consuming… though beneath all the heat, it was just a fluttering, shy little thing too fragile to touch.

It scared Jason. For him, love had always been comforting, safe and pleasant. Fear had nothing to do with it. Yet that didn't make his love for Pythagoras any less genuine. If anything…

Jason realised with no small amount of shame that the princess of Atlantis hardly occupied any thoughts in his mind since their last meeting during his cursed state. And even before that… since their trip to Helios, he hadn't mused about her as much as he'd used to. Jason could have probably blamed it on his worries about Pythagoras or his recent night-troubles, but didn't. There was no point.

His heart gave a pained pang. He was missing her. It would have been great to have her close, inhale her sweet scent that always seemed to calm him and pull her close. She would tell him that he needn't worry, that everything will work out. Jason suddenly had the weirdest fantasy; he imagined telling the princess about his problems.

Would Ariadne resent him for contemplating what to do with Pythagoras? Would she be supportive? Would she feel Jason had shamed her? Would she stop talking to him altogether?

Though Jason didn't think he'd ever tell the princess, he believed that Ariadne would not come to resent him. She was good, gentle and true. She would probably say something about how Jason had to follow his heart in this - even if it meant that she would lose him.

Jason took a last deep breath before straightening his back and looking out onto the city that spread in every direction. The view from here had always fascinated him; he could never marvel at such sights from his flat in London. When his gaze landed on the faraway palace, a tight knot formed in his throat and it persisted for a long moment before dissolving. Jason told himself it didn't feel like guilt.

Okay. So he was probably a little bit in love with Pythagoras, after all. Best to approach the subject from physical aspects, then. Would he be able to... no, that's not right. Would he _want_ to get intimate with Pythagoras?

Aside from the kissing part (which was something that, if he wanted to be brutally honest, had been present in his mind quite prominently since the day before) the idea of sleeping with Pythagoras had no appeal to him whatsoever. He just didn't think he desired him physically.

But then again, he didn't exactly like to imagine sleeping with Ariadne, either. Sure, he fantasised a lot about embracing her, kissing her lips so long they turned red and puffy, all the satisfying snuggling and cuddling… but nothing more. She was like a goddess - faraway and untouchable - and the idea of sleeping with her felt almost like a desecrating act.

Jason imagined Ariadne completely naked under him on a soft bed with Jason spreading her thighs, pushing into her body… and shuddered violently. No, that was… Urgh. No, that didn't felt right. _At all._ More like getting soaked with icy water from head to toe.

He tentatively tried to conjure up the same imagine with Pythagoras… but only got as far as a naked Pythagoras on the bed before he had to bury his head flaming head in his hands. _Too much, waaay too much. Christ._

No matter how embarrassing a thought it was however, Jason wasn't repulsed by it.

Another mental image came: Pythagoras snuggling close to Jason, wrapping a hand around his hips and… and it felt nice. Really, _really_nice. Jason could remember the warmth of his friend's lithe body, the way his blond curls tickled Jason's neck whenever he hugged the man close. Jason took the scene a bit further and imagined Pythagoras pressing small kisses along his neck. When it felt alright, he took it even further and imagined himself doing the kissing. He had had fantasies about this with Ariadne before and this was just as pleasurable.

Except… in reality it would be completely different with Pythagoras, wouldn't it? Pythagoras would show obvious physical signs of arousal. He would get hard, and if they were embracing, his cock would press against Jason even through their breeches.

That made Jason think about Pythagoras' sexual experience. He had done it with man before, hadn't he? Jason was pretty sure about that Naos guy and there was a good chance that there had been others as well. Pythagoras obviously had a healthy sex drive, if his often wide-blown eyes and jerking-off was anything to go by.

That was not a good train of thought. Jason's face turned red again when he remembered how Pythagoras had looked and smelled the night before, when he had appeared in front of Jason emitting the thick, heavy scent of release. Something heady coiled low in Jason's stomach and his skin felt tight again. He couldn't tell if it was arousal or something entirely different but it made him itch.

Pythagoras was a _guy_. He had a _dick_. And he would _use_ it. Heck, if they were ever to… to… do anything, _Jason_ would have to use it too.

It scared him how the idea _didn't_scare the living daylights out of him.

His mind strayed to the distant memory from the bathhouse, the murals he'd seen on the walls - and cursed inwardly because his stupid imagination jumped instantly to supply new images for him featuring Pythagoras in the same position as the boy kneeling between the man's legs, leaning close and wrapping his mouth around the man's cock and- shit. SHIT. _SHIT!_

Jason pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle the groan that wanted to rip itself free from his throat. Blood drummed in his ears, he was pretty sure his brain had just short-circuited, his face was on fire and he didn't see any point in denying the fact that were it not for his fright, he would've been rock hard in his breeches.

For Christ's sake, all this musing about sex and _gay_sex and _sex_ _with Pythagoras_ was driving him nuts. He should have stopped way back. Or should have not started it in the first place. Damn it.

It took him at least five minutes to recover his composure, and even then he felt weird and hot and restless.

Just to be fair, he tentatively imagined Ariadne in the same position on her knees - and recoiled immediately, pulling a face and mentally begging for the princess' forgiveness. It felt incredibly _wrong._ For all his romantic attraction toward Ariadne, sleeping with her was not something Jason particularly liked thinking about. He didn't understand why. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, after all - any man would have been happy to take her to bed. And yet… he wasn't.

Jason swallowed around the hard lump in his throat as he once again turned his attention to the beautiful sight that was the city of Atlantis. For once, the view did nothing to calm him down. He was hot, his skin itched and he wondered if it was possible that his heart had swelled so much his ribcage wasn't enough to contain it anymore.

Beneath all the confusion, one question flashed persistently in his mind: what did this all mean for him?

* * *

><p>Night could not have come sooner.<p>

Jason was suddenly immensely happy for the job because it meant he could focus his thoughts on something other than Pythagoras and his own little gay crisis. His heightened senses came back again after the sun had set, but this time he welcomed them - they made things much easier for him. Even in the dark, he could see perfectly and his reflexes had never been better. He had to put up with Hercules' sweaty smell as the man pushed him up onto the huge surrounding walls, sure, but it was a small price to pay.

Pythagoras was right: sharp glass-fragments and pointy spikes had been scattered all over the top of the surrounding walls, all of which threatened to break skin if he touched them.

While he still stood on Hercules' shoulder, he took off his night gown and put it on top so his hands wouldn't get hurt when he pushed himself up. He then hopped onto the other side and threw the rope over so his friends could climb over too.

"Wait a second," Pythagoras whispered before climbing up. "I'll secure the rope to the roots of this tree so we can use it to climb back out later."

There were two guards standing watch at the main gate and two more walking around the gardens. It took the trio an awful lot of time to get near to the house where they could hide behind the bushes without any of the guards noticing them. Hercules had almost got them spotted when he wasn't careful enough and stepped on a branch, but thankfully an owl started hooting at the same moment and the guard eventually looked away.

When neither of the moving guards were near them, Hercules and Jason moved forward while Pythagoras stayed on the spot from which he could see this side of the garden in its entirety. After reaching the outer walls of the villa, Hercules put his hands together and used them as leverage to push Jason up until he could reach the lower parts of the balustrades on the balcony. Jason had no trouble pulling himself up and swinging over the rail; his body felt flexible, sharp and light in a way it never had before.

He made an okay gesture toward his friends and then leapt forward, grabbing the window sill higher up on the right side and pushing himself up. It felt easy. Even from up here, he could hear Hercules' relieved sigh.

Picking the lock on the window shutter was not that easy but thanks to the tricks Pythagoras had showed him before, he managed to open it. He climbed into the room as quietly as he could and closed the window firmly behind himself to not alert the guards downstairs to his presence.

His friends had worried about how he would make his way in the unfamiliar house in complete darkness but Jason told them that it was okay because they'd talked about its layout and besides, he had a great night vision. But they couldn't have known just how true it was. Though it wasn't like moving in daylight, he could still make everything out perfectly. When he exited what appeared to be a storage room and found himself on a narrow corridor, he could even detect the faint scent of people sleeping in the room behind the opposite door.

He made his way to Iole's supposed bedroom on tip-topes, and was careful not to make any sound as he opened the heavy door. The huge, neatly furnished room was lit by oil lamps hanging from the ceiling, all of which cast orange light onto the girl sleeping peacefully in a bed so big that it nearly rivalled that of Ariadne's.

Holding his breath, Jason walked to the small night desk on her left side and laid the neatly wrapped package he'd carried attached to his belt down on it. He hadn't checked, but he'd have bet there was a necklace that was hiding in it.

Not wasting any time, Jason exited the room and quietly made his way back to the storage room. Adrenaline was filling up his body but it was only now, after the delivery was done, that he let himself inhale deeply and really think about just what he'd done. His heart was thumping and he felt busy, _alive._ Excited, even.

It didn't last long.

As soon as he opened the window, the scent came to him - and with that, the waves of _fearworryanger_. Hercules' heart was beating so much that Jason almost missed his cry. "Jump, boy, we've been spotted!"

Jason jumped without hesitation. Though he was on the second floor, he landed in the perfect position from where he could roll over once and get up without any strain on his body. Even he was surprised by this easy landing. Whoa. Now _this_was something he would miss when his super-senses disappear.

Hercules blinked at him in surprise but then just grabbed his arms and thrust him forward. "Go, go, go!"

"You there! Halt!" someone was shouting at them, but they only ran faster.

Jason smelled Pythagoras before he'd seen him. The man's whole body was rigid with alarm, his face pale as a ghost. He gave off the same _fearworrypanic_ scent as Hercules did. It made Jason want to jump in front of his friend to protect him from harm's way.

By the time this thought was completed in his head, Jason had already grabbed Pythagoras and pushed him in front of himself, shielding him as they run toward the wall where they had left the ropes.

The guards started shooting at them and it was only by sheer luck that none of the arrows had hit them seriously; one scratched Jason's arm when he was pushing Pythagoras up but that was all.

They had no such luck with the shards on the top of the wall. The glass cut their palms as they throw themselves over and Jason grunted against the sharp sting. Even so, they couldn't stop; the house was awakening, with more and more rooms lighting up.

Hercules had the mind to pull the rope over so the guards couldn't use it, but there was no need: they were already opening the main gates.

"Damnation!" he cursed, biting at his lip. Then, without any warning, he pushed Pythagoras and Jason over to the other side of the road, toward the thick, neatly trimmed bushes surrounding the keep. "You two, hide in there!"

"What?"

"Just do it, Jason! They will think we've split up; some of them will come after me, but the rest will run the other direction. I know my way around here; I'll lose them at the market." When Pythagoras and Jason kept on staring at him, Hercules forcefully pushed them again. "Oh for the love of… If you don't go right now I will _personally_ blast your heads off, you clay-brained idiots!"

Jason grabbed Pythagoras by his waist and hurled him toward the bushes. "You'd better meet us at home!"

"Damn right I will!"

But Jason didn't see what kind of expression Hercules made. He had already turned his back on him and jumped right after Pythagoras, lying down on his side and fitting himself tightly along the mathematician's body. Pythagoras opened his mouth but Jason quickly pressed his hand over it to stop the man from talking. No sooner than the thick leaves and branches fell back over them, obscuring them from view, the gates opened fully and shouting guards came running out.

* * *

><p>xxx<p>

* * *

><p><em>Let us survive this. Let us survive this. Please, let us survive this.<em>

So far, Pythagoras' mantra had seemed to be working. It happened exactly the way Hercules had predicted: after noticing how it was only one man racing ahead of them, the guards split in two and half of the group hurried in the other way. The other three didn't think about checking the thick bushes on the side of the road, and Pythagoras could only see their feet as they ran past them.

But what about Hercules? He had used himself as bait and there was no telling if he could really get away safely. Pythagoras could only hope that his friend's good luck would last for tonight as well.

Ah merciful deities - he'd known this job was a _terrible_ idea. No amount of money was worth his friends' safety.

"Hey." Warm breath gushed over his ear as Jason whispered directly into it. "You okay?"

A full-body shiver raked through Pythagoras from the rough voice and the heat that his mind had just now registered pressing alongside his body. Suddenly he was very aware of the position they were in: both of them lying on their sides on the grass, Jason's knees pressing against the bend of his legs, his head resting right behind his own, an arm wrapped securely around his hips and another coming up from beneath his head to press a sweaty palm against his mouth. It smelled of the sharp tang of blood from the cuts on Jason's palm. Pythagoras' lips trembled and he could feel them brush against slightly wet skin. Oh. _Oh._

He went rigid but somehow managed to nod. The hand left his mouth, and Pythagoras missed it the moment his face was touched by the cool air of the night.

"I think we should wait a bit more," Jason muttered quietly. "Others could still be watching."

Pythagoras just nodded again. He couldn't have found his voice if his life depended on it.

This close proximity with Jason had been the last thing he needed right now. With all the excitement and fear still pumping through his body, his heart-rate was already crazy enough without the added distraction of _Jason pressing tight against him._ Mother of gods, he didn't need this!

He could feel his face heating up and he desperately wished he would've had the mind to focus on something other than the weight of that arm around his hips. A mathematic problem… an equation… _anything_, really… but his mind was blank and only his senses remained.

It didn't help that Jason's arm suddenly tightened around him and the man pressed _closer_(even though Pythagoras had thought it wasn't possible), inhaling slowly, deeply. Goose-bumps rose all over Pythagoras' skin when Jason repeated the action.

Pythagoras was impossibly hot, and he was sure his skin was burning up. What had he done to deserve this kind of torture?! Closing his eyes, he tried recalling a revolting image to dampen his sudden and terribly inappropriate excitement but to no avail. Jason's fingers were pressing into his hips now; he could feel each and every one of his fingertips oozing warmth into him through his clothing.

As Pythagoras was wetting his dry lips, Jason fit his nose to the back of Pythagoras' neck and took a deep breath once again. The mathematician had to bite on his tongue to stop himself from gasping.

"Jason, are you… Are you _smelling_ me?"

"Your heart has gone crazy."

That was no answer, yet it made Pythagoras blush to the roots of his hair. Was his heart beating so loud that Jason could actually _hear_ it? But he tried to play it cool.

"Given our current situation, I think it's hardly a surprise." Of course it had more to do with his current situation with Jason than the overall job-situation, but his friend didn't know that.

"Mmm. I guess. It's still distracting."

Pythagoras had no idea what to make of that. If he had been in the possession of his full mental capabilities, he would have put more effort into working out just what on earth was going on. But right now, his head was near-empty of thoughts and the only thing it was capable of processing was how firm and warm Jason was, how their bodies fit together perfectly, how he could feel his friend's chest rise and fall against his back with every intake of breath. His arse was pressed tight against Jason's groin, and as soon as he realised this fact, Pythagoras was doused with molten rock from head to toe.

_Oh sweet Himeros, please stop dripping such thoughts into my mind. Please don't corrupt my body. This is a very,_very_bad time to get an erection._

But the winged god was either not listening to his begging or found making Pythagoras miserable too amusing to stop.

Heat pooled low in his stomach and Pythagoras knew he was moments away from getting hard. He wanted to reach down and press his heel of his hand painfully against his breeches to prevent it from happening but was terrified of alerting Jason to it. His lungs stung with how little air was left in them.

When Jason moved his head and his lips brushed against the back of Pythagoras' neck, the mathematician made a thin noise and was mortified to feel himself harden.

At once, Jason froze and stopped breathing altogether. The air changed around them - it was charged with something heavy and _different_, and when Jason couldn't help but take another breath, he groaned into Pythagoras' ear as if in pain.

"Oh, fuck, _no_."

Blood was beating so hard in his ears that Pythagoras feared he would turn deaf. Jason couldn't have possibly seen the state he was in, could he? There was no way - it was dark, they were lying in a bush, Pythagoras himself could hardly see anything. Actually, that was_exactly_ the problem: with his sight gone, he could sense everything more prominently… all the angles of Jason's body, his searing body-heat wrapping around him, his fingers digging painfully into his hips…

"Pythagoras, stop it." Jason was hissing like a venomous snake.

"I'm not doing anything," Pythagoras whispered back, voice trembling and thin.

"You… fuck, you're making me… It's just so thick I, I can't… Fuck! _Stop it!_"

"I would if you told me what-"

Jason grabbed Pythagoras' hips to fix him in place and then pushed forward, crashing his groin against Pythagoras and rubbing a hard length over his backside. A hard length which left no doubts about its nature.

Pythagoras died.

He died. His brain turned into nothing but smoke and dust.

Absolute stillness took over his body and by the time he came back seconds, minutes, _eternities_ later, Jason was panting harsh against his neck and cursing loudly while still grinding against his arse. "Fucking hell, Pythagoras, I'm sorry, I can't…"

If Pythagoras had been fighting a losing battle with an erection before, now he got crashed and knocked out completely by the opposing party. His insides clenched so hard he thought he might be sick as his entire being fell into a pit filled with lava, and he thickened to full hardness with such a rapid speed that it knocked the breath out of his lungs.

Jason groaned again - a deep, guttural sound like that of an animal - and thrust his hip forward with even more vigour, rubbing and pressing and _pushing, pushing, pushing_.

"Goddamnit I can't, I can't," he kept stuttering. He pressed his nose down and inhaled again, mouth slack and wet against Pythagoras' skin. "Your scent, it's driving me crazy, it's so… oh god, fuck!"

"What? What are you talking about?" Through the haze of lust, a clear and bright strand of worry penetrated Pythagoras' mind. "Jason, what are you talking about?"

But Jason just shook his head; Pythagoras could feel the movement against the back of his head.

He tried clearing his thoughts to be able to think. It sounded like Jason was saying he could smell Pythagoras' arousal but that… that couldn't have been right. Except… this whole situation was surreal enough as it was. Jason had_never_ showed any interest in men and for him to suddenly start humping Pythagoras as desperately as he was doing it now…

No, something was wrong and it filled Pythagoras with dread.

He took one peek through the bushes to see that the road was still empty before turning around with one quick motion to face Jason.

One look at his friend confirmed all of his fears even as the sight took his breath away. Jason's face was flushed and dark, his eyes blown so wide they seemed blacker than the night sky and he was obviously fighting for breath. His lips were bruised from how hard he'd been biting on them.

Pythagoras found his voice. "Jason, talk to me. What's wrong with you?"

Jason shut his eyes closed and opened his mouth, but his hips rolled forward again on instinct and their groins touched again. As much as Pythagoras wanted to be the voice of reason, he couldn't help but let out a muffled cry as hot sparkles run across his spine from the delicious pressure of the contact. Sweat trickled down his temple, and Jason swore while pushing against him again. Pythagoras dug his fingers into Jason's shoulders even as his mind screamed STOP WRONG _WRONG._

"Is it… a jinx?" he panted, breathless. "A charm, a curse or… Jason, have you got cursed again?"

"Not… not _again_," Jason forced through gritted teeth. He finally forced his body to still, but it seemingly took all his willpower to stop himself from grinding against Pythagoras. He was trembling violently. "I… I didn't want to tell you so you wouldn't worry, and it was getting better…"

When Pythagoras realised what his friend had meant, his eyes widened. "Damn it, Jason!"

This was it. _This_was the thing Jason had been hiding. Hekate's curse had not lifted completely and he was suffering from post-effects. Obviously, he still had the highly developed sense of smell of a Kynikoi and now Pythagoras understood why Jason had persisted that he wouldn't need light to move around in the house. But was there more? As thick as he could be sometimes, even Jason wouldn't be so stupid as to keep silent if he still turned into an animal… but that didn't mean there were no other complications.

Sudden rage made Pythagoras' see red. He was absolutely _furious._

"Why couldn't you just _talk_ to us?! Didn't you ever think that letting us know about this might have been a little bit _important_?!"

"It's not that… simple. It's not just that, not just the curse. I mean…" Jason glanced at Pythagoras but dropped his gaze as soon as their eyes met. "Look, I'm sorry. I really am sorry. But it wasn't so bad and I was handling it well-"

"Yeah, I can see that," Pythagoras cut in dryly.

Jason flinched. He opened his mouth but whatever he was going to say, he decided to not share it.

Pythagoras watched him with narrowed eyes for a couple of moments before letting his fury leave with a sigh. "Come on, let's get you home. I would rather hear it all when we're safe in our house and not lying in the dirt beneath the bushes."

Jason shot him a surprised look.

"I'm still angry with you," Pythagoras said while disentangling himself from Jason. "I would have never pegged you this stupid and reckless. But I want to hear everything, and I won't have that talk here."

Jason nodded slowly. He pulled his arms away and sat up, and Pythagoras told himself he wasn't missing the heat of his body already.

When Pythagoras stood up and looked around (the road was still empty, thank the gods, though he could see that the keep was lit up brightly) Jason pulled his legs up and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, groaning. Worried that his friend was in pain, Pythagoras turned to face him but he saw no outward sign of wounds or anything aside from the shallow cuts on his palms.

What he could see by the pale light of the moon, however, was the still hard bulge in his breeches - and the sight made his throat dry out. He could recall the only other time when Jason had been erect in his presence… and right, it was when he'd been under the influence of aphrodisiac incense.

It figured. Jason wouldn't ever get hard in his presence if not for aphrodisiacs or blasted curses. But it was alright; he wasn't expecting anything else, after all.

Pythagoras ignored the sharp pang of pain in his chest.

Maybe the reason he got so angry was because a small, treacherous part of him hoped that this intense reaction was brought forth because of him. Maybe somewhere deep, he still believed that Jason could feel that way toward him. Now, how pathetic was that, really?

"Come on," he said quietly, offering his hand to Jason. "They can be coming back any moment. We should head home as soon as possible. Maybe Hercules is already there."

In the utter madness of the last couple of minutes, his worry for his old friend's safety had completely escaped Pythagoras' mind. He felt terrible. Hercules was risking his skin for them and Pythagoras couldn't care about anything else but his lust for Jason.

Part of him hoped that Hercules was home by now; he desperately wanted his friend to be alright, to be safe. But right now, he had no idea how he would even start to explain the situation to him if they really did find him at home.

He didn't notice Jason not taking his hand until the man scrambled to his feet. Pythagoras frowned and moved a step forward, but Jason raised his hand to stop him from getting close.

"I… You shouldn't, not right now," Jason muttered, not meeting Pythagoras' eye. His face was still flushed. "I'm sorry, it'll… it will go away now, I just need some fresh air."

"What do you mean?" But as soon as the words came out, he suddenly got it. "Oh."

It wasn't just the curse. It was _Pythagoras._ What happened to Jason… the way he acted… it was all because he could smell Pythagoras' arousal and his body reacted to it.

Which meant that Jason must have realised by now that Pythagoras was attracted to him.

Fuck.

No wonder that he could barely meet his eyes.

Their way back home was eerily quiet, and the only sound Pythagoras could hear was his heart cracking into pieces.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: *grins***

**I really liked writing this chapter, though_ booooooooys why so stupid._ But good news is, there's progress coming in the next chapter! And more screen-time devoted to Hercules ;)**

**Thank you so much for reading! And if you even share your thoughts with me, I'll love you forever~**


	3. Tingling Skin

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3.

Tingling Skin

.

Pythagoras sagged in relief when the door of their house opened to reveal Hercules with a huge clay pot in his hands, alarmed and ready to strike.

"Pythagoras! Jason!" he exclaimed with a relieved grin upon seeing their faces. He put the pot aside and pulled his friends into a bone-crushing embrace. "You took so long I feared you had been caught."

"No, we're good," Jason said, patting Hercules on the back. "But what were you going to do with that pot?"

"Well, if they caught you I figured they could be coming here any minute. I would've smashed their heads right in and flicked out of sight. But by the gods, I'm glad you're alright!" He released them and flashed a bright grin. "And hey! We did it!"

But his smile faltered when he took in their appearance, the way they stood awkwardly without looking at each other. Pythagoras lowered his eyes when Hercules turned to frown at him in confusion.

"What's with you guys? Did something happen?"

Pythagoras glanced at his right side. Jason met his eyes for a second before sucking his lower lip in and turning his head away.

"Yeah, you could say that," Pythagoras said in a quiet but firm voice, turning back to Hercules. "But it's got nothing to do with the guards or Hypatos. Hercules, I need to talk to Jason."

He didn't ask Hercules to retire to his bedroom and make himself scarce because their talk needed to be private – for now, at least. He just looked his friend straight in the eye and let his expression tell the rest. For all he liked to act like it, Hercules wasn't stupid, and Pythagoras knew his friend cared for him deeply. He would see this for what it was, even if he didn't understand the reasons.

And sure enough, after glancing from Pythagoras to Jason and then back again, understanding dawned on his face. He didn't look happy.

"Alright. You are big boys and you don't need Uncle Hercules hanging over your heads. I wanted to go to bed, anyway; all that running around made me bloody exhausted. I could sleep for two days straight!" He shot a narrow look at Jason before raising an eyebrow at Pythagoras. "We'll talk tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah," Pythagoras mumbled. "Thank you."

He waited until Hercules closed the bedroom door behind himself before going to the table, sitting down and raising his hand to urge Jason to do the same. When his friend was seated, Pythagoras crossed his arms and pointed his gaze at Jason.

"Well?" The man didn't speak up, so he elaborated, "When were you going to tell us that the curse wasn't gone?"

"It _is _gone," Jason said in a hurry. "It's gone, it's just… It apparently takes longer for certain side-effects to fade away."

"What 'side-effects' are we talking about?"

"Heightened senses, mostly. Everything's normal during the day but when night falls, some of my… Kynikoi-abilities come back. Reflexes, eye-sight, hearing…" He paused for a second, wet his lips. "Sense of smell…"

Pythagoras tensed and hated how Jason could probably sense his heart-rate quickening. He was grateful that even if he did, Jason let it go without mention.

"I also have a bit of a craving for meat, but nothing serious. However, I've never transformed again after you made me drink the cure and I'm always fully aware of myself. And all these… symptoms have been getting weaker with each passing day, so I realised it was only a matter of time before it was gone completely." For the first time in forever, he glanced up and met Pythagoras's eyes. He seemed sincere when he said, "I truly am sorry for not telling you guys but I didn't want to worry you. And I was handling it well."

"From where I was, you didn't seem to be handling it _that_ well."

The only reason Pythagoras didn't hate how heat crept to his face as he said that was because Jason had also turned red.

"I'm sorry."

"… Yeah. I know."

Pythagoras leant back in his chair and put his hands together in his lap. Now that they'd gotten over this part, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened. He wanted to drag the safe part of their conversation on – demand to know exactly what Jason had experienced during the past couple of nights and at what speed the after-effects had been weakening… but knew that no matter what he did, in the end, there was no avoiding _that_ topic.

So he took a deep breath, braced himself and bore his gaze into the table while saying, "I realise what happened earlier was my fault."

Stunned silence followed his quiet admission, but he didn't dare to look up and check on Jason's expression.

"I… Sorry, what?"

"You told me enough. I could put things together. I know the reason you've lost sense of yourself was because your body reacted to my… weakness. I apologise for that. But you have to know that I had no control over it."

Jason didn't say anything and the silence dragged on. Pythagoras studied his clenched fingers as if they were the most fascinating thing they had ever seen, but inside, he felt sick. His lungs felt tight and every short intake of breath burnt his windpipe.

Why wasn't Jason saying anything? Was he angry? Was he disgusted? Was he embarrassed? Pythagoras was desperate to know but too afraid to look.

Maybe Jason wanted to act like nothing happened. Maybe Pythagoras shouldn't have brought it up. But there was no way he could have gone on pretending it never happened – pretending that everything was fine and he wasn't head over heels in love with his friend.

If he was going down, he would do so with the truth on his lips.

"I assume you have come to understand that what I feel for you goes beyond friendship."

He could have said it was purely a physical reaction evoked by being pressed so close to Jason. His preference would still have come to light but not his emotions – those, he could have explained away. Jason wouldn't have known the difference.

But Pythagoras was not that kind of person. He didn't wish to taint their friendship by basing it on a lie – so he didn't.

The silence was maddening. In that moment, he would have given half his arm for the ability to hear how Jason's heartbeat and breathing pattern changed, if they did at all. _What am I to do now, Athena?,_ he asked wordlessly. _Should I explain myself? Apologise? Assure him that I expect absolutely nothing? Beg him to find it in himself to forget and forgive so that our friendship would not end today? _The idea of that happening terrified him. He didn't want to lose Jason.

"I am sorry," he whispered on a breath.

"Pythagoras, you…" Jason's voice croaked and Pythagoras instinctively braced himself for whatever was coming. "Pythagoras, you _don't_ have to apologise. Not for _that_. Not for _anything_." A few moments of silence, then, "I owe you a confession. I… have known about your feelings for me for some time."

Pythagoras' head snapped up. "What?"

His heart throbbed as their eyes met. Jason's face was impossible to read but his eyes were just as wide and fearful as Pythagoras' own. His body language spoke of embarrassment.

"I've known it since we came back from Helios. I've known that you l–" He cut off and flushed. "That you feel that way towards me. It's alright."

"But… H-how?"

"You didn't say or do anything, if that's what you're worried about. It was nothing, really. Just the way you… Look, I can't explain it. One second, it just all clicked together – everything that I've dismissed as insignificant up until that moment – and I just knew it."

Pythagoras was stunned.

Oh gods. Jason knew. Jason knew he loved him. This whole time… _he knew._

_But why didn't he say anything?! _

All these weeks. His strange behaviour. The way he didn't seem know how to act around Pythagoras. It was all because of _this._ And he had had absolutely no idea!

What was it that Jason said earlier this morning? (Or was it yesterday already? Probably.) That it was something _in Jason_ – something that he couldn't share yet because he had to sort it out in himself?

Merciful gods and goddesses!

"You… you said it wasn't me," Pythagoras stuttered, voice small. "Earlier – you said it wasn't _me _but it was!"

Jason knew immediately what he was talking about.

"No, I didn't act that way because of you. It was _about_ you, fine, but not _because_ of you. I had nothing against you – and I still don't. Please, Pythagoras, don't make this into something it's not. I'm not…. Look, I'm not angry, I'm not repulsed, I'm not… well, okay, maybe I'm a bit freaked out. But the rest of your worries? Forget them."

"But… I don't understand. I thought you would be–"

"Yeah, well, I thought a lot of things, too. But in the end, you can never know until you're right in the middle of the situation. Well, I am." Jason's gaze was firm and it penetrated Pythagoras to the depths of his soul. "The reason I put some space between us was because I needed that to be able to think. I was confused. Hell, I'm still confused about some parts. But I know that I am not, and have never been, angry or disgusted with you. If anything… I'm _glad_ you feel this way towards me. Honestly. It makes me ridiculously happy. I'm just… I'm just not sure I can…" He trailed off, but Pythagoras knew exactly what he was going to say.

Then something hit him.

"Wait a second. Are you…" That surely couldn't be right, could it? He misunderstood something. "Are you saying you have actually_ considered_ it?"

Jason held his gaze. "Yes."

Pythagoras was rendered speechless. _Again._

_Don't get your hopes up_, he told himself at once, trying to will out of existence the tiny spark of hope that flared up in his heart. _He didn't outright say no but that doesn't mean anything. He himself told you that–_

"It has never been your thing. You have never been one for this kind of love."

After a few seconds, the flicker of his eyes told Pythagoras that Jason recognised his own words from the bathhouse. He looked down at his lap, shook his head unhappily. His face closed off again and Pythagoras wanted to pull the words back into his mouth.

"You don't need to tell me that. Believe me, I'm aware."

"You have to know that I don't expect anything from you. I never did. It… happened but I knew it right from the start that it was hopeless. What…What I'm saying is that you don't have to beat yourself up over this. You don't have to patronise me to spare my feelings. I'm fully aware you don't feel that wa–"

"Damn it, Pythagotas, shut up!" Pythagoras flinched from the sharp snap and Jason recoiled immediately. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to shout. Just… Pythagoras, you _can't _tell me this. You don't get to tell me what I can do, what can I feel. It's on me, I told you – solely, exclusively on _me._ And right now what I'm telling you that I'm considering. That's all."

There was no way of killing the sparks of hope anymore. They sprang to life – tiny, but bright and strong – and fluttered like crazy butterflies in his chest no matter how hard Pythagoras tried to keep them under control with the voice of reason.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… Look, Jason, I have a hard time wrapping my head around this. I don't know what the proper way to react is in this kind of situation." He slowly leant back in his chair, worrying his lower lip absently with his teeth. "I was not expecting this."

"Yeah, well. Me neither." Jason huffed a small, breathless laugh and Pythagoras was immensely relieved to see that a small curl of a smile pulled up his friend's mouth. "I wanted to come to you after I had things sorted out. After I knew where I wanted to go with this. It shouldn't have been now; I wasn't ready. But… that's life for you, I guess."

But the mathematician shook his head. "Can you ever feel ready?"

Silence fell between them. Pythagoras tried going through everything he'd come to learn but it was like a thick fog had descended on his mind; he could barely string a coherent thought together. He found himself wondering if he was actually awake and not dreaming in some crazy fantasy-land. He pinched his hand and welcomed the slight sting with pleasure.

He had to be logical about this. While Jason might have been willing to give Pythagoras' feelings consideration, there was no going around the fact that his judgement was clouded by whatever remains Hekate's curse had left. His troubled behaviour over the course of the past few days – and especially what happened earlier tonight – proved without doubt that his feelings on the matter had been corrupted by Pythagoras. He didn't doubt Jason's sincerity but if he experienced any kind of attraction toward Pythagoras lately, it was because of Pythagoras' own feelings toward Jason.

What if Jason decided to give it a go and then changed his mind after the curse lifted completely? What if the only reason behind his 'onsidering' was that he couldn't differentiate between his own emotions and those of Pythagoras'?

He was scared that Jason would eventually come to resent him. He was _terrified._

Pythagoras hated himself for saying, "The curse is affecting you. We can't talk about this until it's gone for good – without any 'lingering side-effects'."

"It wasn't affecting me up until a few days back," Jason stated sharply.

"Had you ever desired me physically before that date?"

Jason held back his reply but his expression told everything Pythagoras needed to know. He tried convincing himself he didn't expect any other reply and it didn't hurt at all.

"As I was saying. We need to wait." Surprisingly, Jason looked nearly affronted at that. After thinking about what he'd said, Pythagoras had a suspicion about where his friend's reaction must have been coming from, and his voice turned gentler. "Jason I'm not questioning your sincerity. I know you care for me. I know. And I appreciate that you care for me enough to not walk out of our lives because of my feelings. But I can't have this talk with you until I am fully convinced that you are not affected by anyone or anything. I _need _to have that protection."

"Yeah." Jason dropped his eyes. "It's not like I'm ready to give you an answer or anything. So. What… What do we do now?"

Pythagoras shrugged. "Go on, I guess? There isn't exactly much we can do at this point."

"Okay. Can do that." Jason shot an awkward look at Pythagoras before getting up from the chair. After a short moment of hesitation, he crossed to the mathematician's side and leant down to press his lips to Pythagoras' temple for a brief second.

Pythagoras' heart picked up a quicker beat and he blinked up at Jason in confusion. "What was that for?"

But Jason just kept on staring at him. His eyes, though not as wide-blown as before, were dilated and Pythagoras blushed when the man took a deep breath. He had no idea what Jason could scent in the air but he didn't wish to delve on it too deeply. It probably wasn't any good.

In the end, Jason just straightened up and shrugged.

"For being you," he said with a small smile. "Good night, Pythagoras."

Even after Jason was gone, Pythagoras sat in a daze at the table for several minutes. When he finally dragged himself to bed, he expected to lie wide awake for several hours, wondering if this had really just happened – if Jason had really told him that he was aware of Pythagoras' feelings and _contemplating_ them… not grossed out, not going away, and absolutely not severing their friendship… but as soon as he hit the bed, he was fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Pythagoras had expected to wake up without clear memories of last night but he was mistaken. His eyes hadn't even opened yet, but as soon as the sleep fog evaporated, he <em>knew.<em> He clearly remembered every second of their exchange, every word had burnt into his memory.

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, not caring how the morning light hurt enough to make his eyes tear up.

_Jason knows I'm in love with him. He knows – and has apparently known for some time – and still didn't leave us. He even said that he was thinking it through. That means that there is hope, doesn't it? Tiny and fragile and near-impossible, but there _is.

It was already more than Pythagoras had ever dared to hope. A terrible weight had lifted off his shoulders, and with the departing of the worst of his daunting demons he floated in a sea of relief and happiness.

He didn't ruin everything. No matter how they would proceed from here, Jason was not walking away.

Pythagoras sat up and that's when he realised he was half-hard in his breeches. Hazy memories of their tumble under the bushes came back to tug at his insides, but he didn't feel any actual desire to act on them. Whatever lust-filled dreams had been teasing him in his sleep, he could easily brush them aside now that he was awake.

He got up, changed clothes and left his room to take the dirty ones to the laundry basket. Hercules was already up and sipping from a cup at the dining table, but Jason was nowhere to be seen.

"He went out to jog," the man said at once, as if reading Pythagoras' mind. "Crazy lad, if you ask me. I mean – _jogging?_ Surely we had enough of running around last night? But he said he needed the crisp morning air to clear his mind." He narrowed his eyes at Pythagoras. "You've any idea why?"

Pythagoras hesitated for a second but then sighed at sat down in front of his old friend. Hercules was family. He didn't deserve being kept in the dark.

"Last night, we had a… discussion. Many things came to light." He looked up and started with the more pressing matter. "For one, Hekate's curse is still not gone."

It was almost comical how Hercules' jaw dropped open. "_What?_ I thought your brew was supposed to take care of that!"

"It did. Partially. He's not turning into a rabid dog anymore but he still has the senses of one when night falls. He thinks it's some kind of post-effect that simply takes a longer time to disappear." Pythagoras made a vague gesture with his hand. "He claims it's getting weaker every night and we shouldn't worry."

"And you believe him?"

He didn't need to think long about that. "Yes."

"Alright. Great." Hercules reached for his cup but then decided against it and just crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You know, that actually explains a lot. I was wondering what made him so jumpy lately. And all that flipping and leaping shit he pulled last night when climbing the wall! He'd always been impressive, you have to give him that, but darn boy. I wondered."

"Yes." Now came the tricky part, during which Pythagoras preferred studying his fingers. "As we lay low in hiding, we got into a situation where due to his enhanced sense of smell it was impossible for him not to realise the full extent of my feelings for him."

Which was an impressively detached way of saying that lying so close to Jason turned Pythagoras on so much his friend could smell it on him. He had to fight a blush just from remembering, but steeled himself to stay as impassive as possible.

Daring a glance up, he saw that the only reaction the news got from Hercules was a sharp raise of eyebrows. It made it easier for him to rush out the next part. "I had no choice but to explain and apologise, and that's when the next shock came: he confessed to already knowing about it for some time. Since we came back from Helios, actually."

When Hercules' expression closed off and he suddenly dropped his eyes, Pythagoras' face fell. A terrible suspicion formed in his mind and he couldn't help but lean forward and point his narrowing gaze at his friend, staring daggers at him. "Hercules. Please, tell me it wasn't you. Tell me you _didn't_ tell him!"

"I didn't! I swear on my life!" Hercules met his eyes without flinching, sharp and determined. "I might have… confirmed it. But the lad had already worked it out himself by then."

Somewhat grudgingly, Pythagoras relaxed. "You should have told me."

"Nah. I don't think so. Jason needed time to take it in. It'd have done neither of you any good." Hercules reached for the cup again but then frowned, lowering his hand. In the end he just scrubbed his stubble-covered jaws and leant back in his chair, studying Pythagoras in a way that made the young man very uncomfortable. "So? What's the deal with you right now?"

"Honestly? I have no idea."

"You didn't…?"

"Didn't what?" Hercules raised one eyebrow again and Pythagoras flushed slightly. "No! No, of course not. Even if he's… It's all because of the curse. He's stimulated by _my_ emotions, not his own. And besides, he has no experience with men at all. I doubt he'd want anything like that if the curse wasn't messing with his head."

"Well, you're right about that. He's got absolutely zero history with men and never pegged himself for having the slightest interest in that kind of relations. It's scaring the living daylight out of him."

Pythagoras blinked in surprise. "How do you know that?"

"We talked." Hercules apparently didn't want to elaborate, and after two solid minutes of Pythagoras boring his eyes into him, he shrugged. "Look, kiddo, I'm not telling you anything. Let's just say that he had no one to talk to and for whatever stupid reason, he came to the conclusion that I'm someone worthy of confiding in. He talked, I listened. And sometimes gave a few pieces of shitty advice." He rubbed his chin and flashed a small smile at Pythagoras. "It was actually quite nostalgic. Gotta say, I did not miss the feeling."

Pythagoras returned the smile. He knew Hercules was referring to all those times when his lost and shaken sixteen-year old self sat with the man late into the night and poured his heart out until he felt raw and bleeding. Hercules never gave advice (he couldn't; not when Pythagoras had refused to let him on everything) but he listened and helped. He put Pythagoras together from his crumbs so he could start a new life in Atlantis.

Pythagoras actually loved the idea that Hercules did something similar for Jason.

"Thank you."

Hercules waved it away. "None of that. I'm only doing what I'm doing to prevent you guys from driving me to an early grave. Now. What do we do with the curse?"

"We can only wait, I guess. Jason seemed rather sure of himself that it will be completely gone in a few days."

"All right. I won't get us any more night jobs until then. The gods know, we have enough money to last for a while, anyway." He flashed a pleased grin at Pythagoras. "I'm meeting up with Nileas at noon at the marketplace. We are having roasted beef tonight, my friend!"

"Jason will be beside himself." Pythagoras allowed himself a grin, too. "He says he has a craving for it."

"And he's not alone with that!"

Hercules got up from the chair than and patted Pythagoras' shoulder before disappearing into his room. The mathematician also stood but when his gaze fell onto the cup his friend had left behind… he frowned.

It was red wine.

It didn't escape Pythagoras' notice how Hercules had refrained himself from drinking in front of his friend's presence. He was much more considerate of Pythagoras' wariness of alcohol since the truth about the nature of his abuse had come to light – even though he temporarily regressed after what happened to Medusa. But it was something Pythagoras could understand. He was greatly saddened by what happened to their friend; he couldn't begin to imagine how Hercules must have felt.

Shame crept into his heart as he raised the cup and gazed absently into its content. He had been so engrossed in the fight with his own doubts, fears and demons that he completely forgot about what Hercules was going through. Apparently, Jason, too, had been confiding in their old friend – but what about Hercules? Who did_ he_ have to talk to?

Pythagoras was ashamed to realise that while he and Jason took Hercules' presence and support for granted, they hadn't offered the same to the man who had his heart broken into pieces. He was there for them. They weren't there for him.

"What's with the long face?"

Startled, Pythagoras snapped his head up. Hercules was standing at the entrance of his room and watching him with questions in his eyes. Pythagoras returned his gaze before wetting his lips and putting the cup down.

"Amidst all that happened to me," he started quietly, "I seem to have forgotten about what happened to _you_. I am deeply ashamed. But… I'm here if you want someone to listen."

Hercules' brows shot up high and he pointed a disbelieving look at the blond man.

"Really? For real? You want me to talk about my _feelings_?"

"Yes. If you want to, that is."

Hercules shook his head and gurgled a deep laugh. "If it's the wine that got you thinking, don't fret. I'm not drowning my pain in booze. At least, not since you dragged me up from the tavern a few days back."

"That's not what I'm worried about, although… I would be lying if I said that hearing this doesn't make me happy." He settled back onto the chair and looked up at his friend with an expression that told him clearly that Pythagoras expected him to do the same. After a few moments of hesitation, Hercules grudgingly obeyed. Pythagoras studied him with care, noting all the new wrinkles that had appeared on his forehead and around his eyes, the deep hurt that had edged itself into his face. "How are you holding up?"

Hercules took so long to answer that Pythagoras had almost given up on it. But after a while, he muttered darkly, "What do you think?"

Hercules pulled the cup in front of himself and wrapped his hands around it, but didn't raise the drink to his lips. Instead, he just stared down at it as if he could see something beyond the depths of the dark liquid. Maybe he did.

"I lost her. I _failed_ her – and there is not a day that goes by without me thinking about her. She was everything to me, Pythagoras. _Everything."_ He glanced up at the mathematician, but whatever he'd seen on Pythagoras' face made him look down again. "Do you know that in all these years, she was the first woman to see the real me and not be repelled by it? You know me, lad. I always play it up. But she… she was different. She _saw_ me."

Pythagoras' heart was breaking just from looking at his friend. How could he have missed all this pain Hercules was hiding in away? How could Jason?

With his head bowed down, eyes dark in the shadows of a pained furrow, mouth pressed thin and curling downwards, Hercules looked like a wounded animal. It was the first time he appeared like this in front of Pythagoras and he wondered why he'd failed to see the real Hercules. Why he couldn't see him like Medusa could.

"She saw me… and now she is damned with a curse that will never allow her to lay her beautiful eyes on me or anyone again. She saw beyond the faults of a person like me, but unless I find a cure, she will never look upon another being for the rest of her life." When he raised his head, his eyes were filled to the brim with misery. "Now tell me, Pythagoras. How am I supposed to live on, knowing that_ I_ was the one who pushed her into this terrible fate?"

"You didn't. It wasn't your fault." Pythagoras knew he would never be able to make Hercules believe that. But he had to say it out loud. "It was an accident. A terrible, dreadful accident, but you had no hand in it."

"Well. I'm not so sure." Hercules' hand tightened around the cup of wine but he didn't raise it up. "I should have known something was not right the moment I found such happiness with her in my arms. It should have raised my suspicion. We simply _weren't meant to be._ I mean, honestly. Look at me. Come on, look at me." Pythagoras reluctantly raked his gaze over Hercules as the man gestured bitterly at himself. "Why in the name of the gods would such a lovely woman as Medusa ever look twice at a useless scumbag like me?"

Pythagoras' chest throbbed in pain. He wanted to object to the self-degrading comments but Hercules didn't let him. The next moment, he crumbled on himself and when spoke, his voice was small and quiet – a tender whisper the like of which Pythagoras had never heard coming from his old friend.

"The worst thing is, I don't care how she looks. I don't care if she has snakes or worms or bloody_ snails_ for hair. I just want her to be by my side. I just want her to smile again."

Pythagoras was at loss about what to say, how to comfort Hercules. The man was broken and there was nothing Pythagoras could have said that would have made any difference to their situation. For the first time, he realised that Hercules was deadly serious when he said that he would gladly give his life if that would make Medusa turn back to normal. He would be happy to sacrifice himself for her safety, for her happiness.

Their love was a tragedy and Pythagoras felt terrible for making such a huge deal of his own insecurities. Compared to what Hercules was going through, his own situation with Jason barely compared at all. Yet Hercules was helping them both struggle through their problems.

There were days when Pythagoras was driven near mad by frustration over Hercules' laziness, greediness and irresponsibility – but at times like this, he realised just how great of a man, and how irreplaceable of a friend he was.

Before Pythagoras could say anything, Hercules sniffed once and gave a surly grunt. "You know, I don't feel any better. In fact, I'm quite sure I've never felt worse. So tell me, am I doing this spill-your-heart-out thing wrong or what? This gets you guys going like this?"

Pythagoras was so surprised by Hercules' abrupt switch to his usual mood that he couldn't help the breathless little laugh from escaping his mouth.

"You're doing fine, friend."

"Of course I am."

Hercules jumped up from the chair and strolled to the main door. The sun was high up the sky and Pythagoras remembered that Hercules had agreed to meet Nileas around noon. Before he left, however, Hercules turned back once and pointed a finger sharply at Pythagoras.

"Whatever happens to me and her? You guys sort your thing out. I'm sick of watching you nitwits sigh and pine all over the place like lovelorn lasses."

He shut the door behind himself before Pythagoras could come up with a reaction, but an ear-spitting smile soon found its way onto his face. His heart swelled – and this time, it was not from pain.

They would be fine. No matter how many hardships they had to face; as long as the three of them were together, they would be fine.

* * *

><p>xxx<p>

* * *

><p>After what happened the day before, Jason dreaded the night.<p>

Even with the knowledge that it had all got settled and he didn't manage to ruin everything for them, he wanted to dig a hole into the ground and hide in it until the sun came up. He had felt so good after dinner (meat, ah, they had red meat. Lovely delicious beef!) Jason thought his mood would last… but no. When the sun set and the now familiar feeling of his senses flaring up came, Jason stopped chuckling at whatever Hercules was saying and promptly excused himself, retiring for the night.

He dozed off a couple of times, but kept waking up. His head was loud and buzzing with his stream of thoughts, preventing Jason from getting any real sleep.

It didn't matter that the post-curse effects really had been getting weaker. It didn't matter that he had more control over himself than he had done the previous night. Jason didn't trust himself to be around his friends until this was over.

He especially didn't trust himself to be around Pythagoras.

Heat still turned his face deep red whenever he recalled how he'd lost himself completely the previous night. One moment everything was good and they were getting away… and in the next, things just spiralled out of control. As soon as he had realised what the hot and heavy scent that clung to Pythagoras' body meant and his nose filled with the musk of arousal, Jason's mind short-circuited and the world went dark.

He only had hazy, lust-filled recollections about what happened next, but he was fairly sure it involved dry-humping Pythagoras – and uh, that was not something he wanted to focus on.

Not because it wasn't nice. Because it was. Shockingly nice, actually. But that was kind of exactly the problem.

Because now Pythagoras knew Jason knew, and he probably expected some kind of answer from him. Not right away, not until the curse was really gone, but soon – and Jason had troubles coming into terms with the fact that his future answer seemed to be leaning in one particular direction more and more. On one hand, this was a good development. On the other hand, it just made another dozen or so questions flood his mind. Because how would thateven work? Would he able to do it? Would he want it? Why? How? _Why? _

When they talked things out in the morning, Pythagoras was right about many things. That included his concern that the only reason Jason was having these thoughts now was because he was affected by the curse and Pythagoras' own feelings.

Jason couldn't deny the fact that before the curse came – even when he already knew how his friend felt for him – he had never desired Pythagoras physically. Hell, two days ago he had nearly had a goddamn breakdown just because he started to wonder about how it would feel to kiss Pythagoras.

But now? Now he couldn't stop his treacherous thoughts from straying to places where they really didn't belong – like that part of his mind where, so far, these huge boxes labelled as PYTHAGORAS and SEX had been sitting peacefully on totally separate shelves until the stupid curse came and knocked them over, only to have their contents spill out and mix irreversibly on the floor.

Jason had started to actually_ want_ Pythagoras.

It would have been startling even without having to worry about the curse. Never mind the, er, more explicit bits. Jason's head near exploded whenever he thought too deeply about those. But he grew more and more confidant that kissing and embracing the man would be very much to his liking.

All day long, he kept finding himself following Pythagoras with his eyes and wondering what kissing him would be like. Not just his mouth, either, though Jason very much wanted to kiss him there. But press his lips to his shoulder, trail kisses over his neck, lick that fascinating collarbone of his… And how Pythagoras would react? How would he kiss? Would he be slow and gentle and languid or mind-blowing like a whirlwind? What would his taste be like? What sounds would he make? How would his short hair feel against Jason's hand as he–

Jason groaned and turned onto his side, clenching hard at the blankets and ignoring the persistent throbbing between his legs. This had to be the most serious case of blue balls he'd ever experienced since his teenage years, but he refused to give in to his cock.

If only this was something that happened only at nights. He could have blamed his reactions on the curse. But no – these kinds of thoughts had been tempting him all day long.

Jason wondered if he should just give in. Find Pythagoras as soon as the past-effects faded into nothing and tell him that he wanted to give this relationship a try.

But what if he did and it didn't work out? The sight of another hard dick could turn him off, and that was something that would no doubt hurt Pythagoras deep. And even if that part would be okay…anal sex? Really? Thanks to an early misfortunate encounter with gay fetish videos, Jason had really skewed notions about gay sex (involving sweaty, hairy muscle heads fucking each other raw and gaping) and even though he_ knew_ that it didn't necessarily apply to their situation, the traumatising images still sat with him.

What if he slept with Pythagoras and it ruined everything?

And what if it didn't?

Jason would willingly enter a homosexual relationship. Ariadne aside (and holy Christ, the princess was a whole other pile of things to sort through; he cringed just from thinking about her right now), Jason had no idea about how people perceived homosexual relationships around here. He knew it occurred rather often but if he came to understand it right, it was only appropriate when applying to young men and their boy protégés.

… But. (And this was a huge, important 'but'. A 'but' of significance.) None of these would change how Jason felt toward Pythagoras.

None of these would change the fact that he loved him.

The confidence in his feelings lifted the turmoil off his heart. His mind cleared and all his worries faded into being merely a light buzz in the background. Jason turned to his back and just lied there, gazing up at the ceiling and taking one deep breath after another.

After a while, he realised that he wasn't going to fall asleep again. As always, he wished for a night watch to tell him the exact time… but the wish wasn't as urgent as in the early days. During his time here, Jason had somehow developed the same (surprisingly accurate) inner clock all Atlantians seemed to possess, and after a quick check on the moon through the window, he came to the conclusion that it must have been around four in the morning.

He didn't want to get up so he stayed in bed. After another hour or so later however, he couldn't ignore his bladder anymore as it was eager to let him know that he had some rather urgent business to take care of. Sighing, he kicked the blankets off and scrambled to his feet.

His night vision, though not as great as before, was still quite awesome. Jason had no troubles manoeuvring through the house to the cupboard without making any noise. As he pulled took the chamber pot out of the cupboard and relieved himself, he thought back longingly to the fantastic flush-away toilets of modern times before pushing the thought away. There was no point in going there. He was here in Atlantis… and most surprisingly, that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted to _stay._

When he finished, he put the chamber pot back inside and closed the door, then headed for the storage area to scan the shelves for some food. As soon as he was there, he caught a whiff from the direction of the balcony room – a whiff that told him that Pythagoras was there.

Surprised, Jason pulled the curtains away and stepped into the room. He found Pythagoras sitting on the floor of the ulterior balcony with his legs pulled up, gazing up at the dark sky with a faraway look on his face.

When he heard the rustling, Pythagoras blinked as if coming back from a trance and snapped his head towards the doorway. Upon recognising Jason, he tensed for a second before allowing his shoulders to relax.

"You're up early."

"So are you." Jason hesitated only for a second before crossing to Pythagoras. As he walked past the other curtained doorway leading to Hercules' room, he could hear his loud snoring. Still, he spoke quietly as he asked, "Mind if I join you?"

Pythagoras turned away but he sounded sincere as he said, "Of course not."

Jason sat down next to the mathematician; close enough to feel the warmth his body gave off but not to touch. Pulling his legs up to mimic his friend, Jason couldn't help but take a deep breath. Pythagoras' usual, natural scent was hardly anything special and yet when it filled up his lungs, something fluttered in Jason's chest anyway.

It didn't escape Pythagoras' notice. He stopped playing with his fingers and glanced at Jason.

Jason half-expected him to pull away and ask worried questions, but the man made no attempt to move. He only asked, "Is it any weaker tonight?"

"Yeah, much. The first night, I'd have been able to smell you sitting out here from by bed. I'd have been able to hear your heartbeat. Hell, I was aware of people _down the street_." Jason made a face at the memory. "Now I can only do these because we're close, and it's not nearly as overwhelming as it was."

Pythagoras nodded along with him. "That's good. When do you reckon it will pass?"

"Not long now. Maybe two or three days? Four at most."

The mathematician nodded again then leant back against the doorway frame.

They sat in silence for a while, until Jason couldn't hold back his question anymore. "Had trouble sleeping?" When Pythagoras didn't answer immediately, he added, "I know I did."

"I slept fine. But I woke up some time ago and couldn't fall asleep again. Too much to think about, I guess." He seemed to be hesitating, and when he turned to Jason, his eyes were sad. "Did you know that Hercules is still beating up himself daily for what happened to Medusa?"

"What do you mean?"

"He believes it to be his fault; he thinks he _failed_ her… and it's eating him alive. He's hurting so much, Jason. He's been hurting right in front of me, and I didn't notice."

"Christ," Jason mumbled. "I figured he must still feel bad about it but he never seemed… I mean, he's been looking fine recently! He wasn't depressed like when it happened, he was acting just like he used to…"

"It's just a front. He is… he is broken." Pythagoras gulped and pulled himself tighter in a way that made Jason want to curl his arms around him and whisper reassuring things into his hair. "I made him talk to me yesterday and it was... I've never seen him like that. And I'm angry at myself for not seeing earlier. I'm supposed to be his best friend!"

"If Hercules didn't want us to know about it, there was nothing you could do."

"That's not true. If I wasn't so preoccupied with myself, I would have noticed it. I would have been the friend he needed. Instead, I cared for nothing but my own problems."

Shame crept into Jason and tugged at his insides. He remembered all the times Hercules let him talk out his frustration during the weeks following the trip to Helios. He was always grumpy and never offered much of an advice but he still listened. Sometimes he gave Jason drinks; sometimes just patted his shoulder. Once, he threatened to crush Jason's thick head against a wall. But he was there for him.

"I didn't know," he admitted. "I had no idea."

The snoring he could still hear coming from the man's room reassured him that Hercules was still fast asleep. Jason had no doubts that the last thing Hercules would want was for them to talk and worry about him like that – but in the end, that's what friends were for, wasn't it?

"How did you two even become friends?" The question was out of his mouth before he'd realised, but he actually really wanted to know the answer. He'd wondered about it.

Pythagoras smiled a little. "I met him a week after I came to Atlantis. He was gambling – and losing. I didn't want to concern myself with him but his opponent was someone who treated me terrible before and was known to rob people of their possessions on the streets if the mood struck him, so…I helped him."

Surprise made Jason laugh. "You what?"

"I've never felt right for doing that so it was almost one of a time. But… yeah. In all my life, I could use logic to predict what numbers are most likely to be rolled and how much amount of money should be laid down for the best possible outcome. That was, actually, the only thing about my studying Father approved of.

"Wait a second. Are you… are you saying you have used Combinatorics, Statistics and Probability on _gambling_?!" Pythagoras' brows shot together in confusion and Jason immediately realised his mistake. However, he was holding back his laugh so much that he just waved it away. "Never mind. But god, Pythagoras, that's hilarious. I bet Hercules was pretty taken with you."

"That he was. After collecting the money, he spun me around the room and hugged me so tight I feared he would crush all my bones. He also gave me a rather disgusting kiss."

Despite the crude comment, Pythagoras was _smiling_ now and the sight made Jason immensely happy.

"When we talked after that and he found out that I was about to be thrown out of the place I resided in for the lack of money, he offered to let me come and live with him until I sorted my things out. And, in the end, I never left."

"Even though you refused to use your genius for gambling again?" Jason asked, grinning.

"Yes." Pythagoras returned the grin, but then his face got serious again. "You know, I owe my life to him. During that first year, I was rather shaken up. My… memories of Samos had still been fresh, and I was miserable and distrustful. Nobody wanted to hire me and the only job I could get was working in a tavern. Of course, it made me only worse. On the first night, it got so bad I accidentally spilled ale all over a costumer. When it happened again, he and his friends dragged me to an alley and beat me up really bad. The owner didn't let me go back after it happened. Said I was trouble."

Jason clenched his fists, nails digging into his flesh painfully. Pythagoras looked embarrassed and dropped his gaze to the ground, and it was turning more and more difficult for Jason to tell himself why it was a bad idea to hug Pythagoras close and never let go again.

"You know, I wasn't even mad," the blond man whispered after a while. "I told myself I deserved it. For killing Father, for not being a good brother to Arcas, for leaving Mother alone, for… for wanting to be the lover of a man… But even without me saying nothing, Hercules was having none of it. When he found out about what happened, he stormed off and didn't return until the wee hours of the morning. He was covered in bruises and had blood on his fists. I remember I was terrified of the sight he made but… he just made me clean up and helped dressing my wounds. He never told me what had he done that night and I never asked. But after, he made sure that I pulled myself together and found my footing – and after a year or so, I did."

Pythagoras raised his head again and glanced up at the dark rosy sky. "I'd have died if not for him."

That's it. That was the end of Jason's self-control.

Pythagoras made a thin sound of surprise when Jason snaked his arm around his shoulder and pulled him close, and actually trembled when Jason pressed a small kiss onto the top of his head. It was eerily reminiscent of all the times they had sat like this during the way back home from Helios, and Jason welcomed it with a passion he hadn't known he possessed. Although he never wanted to see Pythagoras sad and miserable again, he missed having him in his arms, to feel his soft curly locks brushing against his jaw.

Pythagoras held his breath, but his heart started hammering like crazy. Jason thought he would be able to hear it even without his heightened senses. Which, actually, might have been the case; the sun was almost up and the curse was fading away.

"Jason," Pythagoras muttered, panicked. "I'm not sure this is wise."

"Don't worry. It's not because of the curse." Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could still feel Pythagoras' peculiar scent but that was nothing surprising given their proximity. If anything, he wanted to get more and could barely resist the urge to push his nose to that long, delicate neck. "I've never been more grateful to Hercules, you know. I'm so glad you had him. I'm so glad he made you realise that you're not worthless like your arsehole father claimed."

It was true. God, it was. Jason couldn't bear thinking about what could have happened if Hercules had not been there to pick a young and terrified Pythagoras up.

He couldn't bear thinking about the fact that not meeting Pythagoras in Atlantis was ever a possibility.

His hold tightened around the mathematician, who made a thin noise again. "Jason…"

Jason looked down and was instantly met with the wide blue eyes of Pythagoras. As the sun came up to take its place on the sky, it basked everything in warm orange light, Pythagoras included. Light curled around his face, made his eyes glitter like gemstones under those impossible lashes… and the sight took Jason's breath away. Pythagoras, skinny and awkward, was not a man commonly described as beautiful. But Christ, he was gorgeous.

Jason wanted to kiss him.

The sheer force of that want was like a kick to his guts.

Closing his eyes, Jason bowed down and pressed his forehead against Pythagoras'. He felt warm skin under his palm and wondered when his hand moved up to curl around his friend's neck from behind. His thumb stroked the skin under jaws, and Pythagoras gasped and shivered from the touch.

"I want to kiss you," Jason said quietly, voice alien even to his own ears. "Can I?"

Pythagoras froze for a full second before shaking his head. "It's just me messing with your head again. The curse–"

"Is gone for now. And I've been thinking about this for days." He dropped a reassuring kiss onto Pythagoras' forehead, and when the man didn't pull away, he moved lower, dragging his parted lips over temple and cheek. Pythagoras' face was flushed, it radiated pure heat and Jason took a deep breath in an attempt to suck the scent right out of his skin. "Please?"

Pythagoras was fighting with himself; that much was obvious. His hands clenched into fists, his eyes fell shut and he was biting his lip so hard it looked seconds away from breaking skin – and yet he leant into Jason's touch like he was pulled towards it, and made a noise of disappointment when Jason raised his head.

"I want to kiss you," Jason said firmly again, delighted by the sight of Pythagoras' mouth falling open on a gasp. "I really, really want to kiss you."

It was true. He wasn't freaking out at all; his mind was so calm it was almost startling. He had no idea about anything beyond, but this kiss? He was ready – _desperate _– for it.

Pythagoras' throat bobbed as he swallowed before looking up and boring his gaze into Jason's. His expression was unsure and frightened (_For himself_, Jason realised. _He doesn't want to get hurt_) but want and desire circled heavy in his eyes. He studied Jason for long moments, watching him like he was trying to see past the flesh and straight into the soul, and Jason let him.

When Pythagoras finally spoke, his voice cracked on a breath. "Not here."

The fact that Hercules was sleeping (_oh god, please let him still be sleeping_) mere metres away with only a curtain between them had totally escaped Jason's mind.

Pythagoras scrambled to his feet and started for the living room with Jason following in his heels, as if being more than a few inches away from the mathematician would have been fatal for him. As soon as Pythagoras tentatively stopped, Jason stepped into his personal space.

Pythagoras was looking everywhere but him, and Jason was nearly overcome with the urge to back the man against the nearest wall and just crash their lips together. Instead, he waited until Pythagoras found control over those quick, short breaths of his and finally glanced up.

"Yes," Jason said, answering the question in the sky blue gaze without hesitation.

Pythagoras' eyes fluttered close when Jason cupped his head with both hands and stroked the skin just under the ears with his thumbs. Standing like this – with his face flushed, mouth trembling, knuckles white and hands clenched into fists – the blond man seemed fragile and vulnerable. Jason was suddenly hit by the knowledge that he could hurt him beyond repair.

He closed his eyes and descended on Pythagoras' mouth.

His friend might have made a muffled sound of surprise but Jason couldn't possibly hear it over the deafening noise of blood drumming in his ears. Pythagoras' lips were smooth and impossibly soft, his warm breath tickled Jason's mouth as he pressed as close as humanly possible. He pulled back a bit and then kissed him once again, then twice and three times and _more_, slowly working that delicious mouth open until Pythagoras was gasping raggedly against him. Trembling fingers tangled in his tunic and even through the rough layer of the material Jason could feel short nails scraping against his skin.

Then he pushed his tongue past the slack lips into the maddening wet heat… and his brain stopped working.

Pythagoras made an obscene sound that went straight to Jason's groin, and the next moment he was pushing the mathematician against the wall after all, attacking his mouth with the desperation of a drowning man.

Kissing Pythagoras wasn't any different from kissing a woman, but at the same time, it was DIFFERENT with flaming capitals. Jason wanted to scream, wanted to grasp, wanted to melt into the man who threw his arms around Jason and pulled him flush against himself, one hand digging into his back and the under tangling in his locks, tugging, tugging, _tugging_ until Jason was sure he was losing hair.

Pythagoras' tongue slid against his own and Jason moaned deep from the back of throat, prompting Pythagoras to do the same. Everything was wet, slick heat and muffled groans, tingling skin and pure, otherworldly pleasure. Jason was addicted to the taste, was drunk on it, and wondered why the hell he hadn't been snogging Pythagoras for _weeks._

His skin felt so tight he was sure it would start cracking up any seconds now. When Pythagoras did something_ really_ wicked with his tongue, Jason's knees nearly gave in. His lungs burnt like there was not enough oxygen in them, even though he did nothing but suck the hot air directly out of Pythagoras' mouth.

When they parted for with a gasp, Jason got so dizzy he had to brace himself with one hand on the wall. He swallowed back a breathless curse, but when he glanced down at Pythagoras, it escaped his mouth anyway. "Oh fucking hell."

He'd never thought his friend could look like_ this,_ and the image burnt itself into his retinas.

Pupils blown impossibly wide and shining with fever, cheeks bright red, wet lips kissed dark and bruised, Pythagoras was lust personified. The sheer desperation and want that oozed from his expression made Jason shake with desire.

Obviously, making out with Jason was something Pythagoras had been dreaming of for a long time, and now that he got it, he wasn't tolerating any distance between them. Jason blinked in surprise when the mathematician grabbed and pulled him down roughly, inducing him in another scorching kiss that made stars flare up and explode behind Jason's eyelids.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he rambled incoherently into Pythagoras' mouth between the clashes of their tongues. "_Pythagoras."_

"Jason," Pythagoras whispered back, needy and breathless. "Jason. _Jason."_

Jason briefly wondered if Pythagoras had more than one pair of arms that he'd kept hidden until now, because his hands suddenly seemed to be _everywhere_. He was tugging at his hair, touching his face, cupping his neck, stroking his hips, scraping the small of his back… When Jason started sucking on his tongue, Pythagoras cursed unintelligently, his hips bucked forward and oh, _oh. _

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Pythagoras sputtered. "I just, I can't, I–"

"It's okay," Jason hushed back hotly, though his mind flared and sent panicked waves rolling down his spine. "It's okay."

_Sweet Jesus Christ, he is hard, he is hard, he is So. Fucking. Hard._

Jason pushed back hesitantly. When their crotches met, Pythagoras let out a tight whimper that raised goose-bumps all over Jason's skin. With his boiling blood suddenly rushing south, he thought he might faint.

Pythagoras was rock hard in his breeches, and Jason was somewhat shocked to realise that he was in the exact same state. His balls felt tight as if he was already close, even though they hadn't even done more than kissing. _Bloody hell._

Pythagoras dragged his hips up and down, slow and steady, grinding and pressing and pushing… and Jason had to fight with himself to will his lust-filled brain into functioning. Feeling another guy's hard cock against his own felt nice enough not to be a major turn-off, but at the same time it made him panic violently.

Pythagoras cracked one eye open, and he must have seen something on Jason's face because he froze in his movement.

Immediately, Jason leant forward to press a long kiss onto Pythagoras' mouth. "I'm sorry, it's not… Please, don't get it wrong. This, all of this, is absolutely _fantastic._ I just, it's…"

"Too soon," Pythagoras finished it for him. The sound of his hoarse voice made Jason shiver.

The mathematician pulled back and buried his face in his hands, chest heaving.

"Damn," he cried into his palm. "I shouldn't have lost my head like this. I would have never agreed to the kiss if I'd known it would be so…"

"Mind-blowing?" Jason felt a smile on his lips and it made him relax. He kissed the top of Pythagoras' hand where it covered his mouth. "Hey, don't you go and regret it. Come on, look at me."

Pythagoras let his arms drop but closed his eyes and pushed his head against the wall with a thud. He sucked in his lower lip and Jason found himself unable to tear his eyes away.

"It was reckless and stupid. I should've known better. By the gods, we have _talked _about this. We agreed to _wait._"

"You can't lay out the plans for a budding relationship. It's unpredictable. It's whimsical. Sometime things just happen, but that's not a bad thing."

Pythagoras looked sharply at Jason. "Is it what you would call this? A budding relationship?"

Jason's face fell; he hadn't fully realised what he was saying. But after thinking it through briefly, he knew he hadn't said anything that was untrue. "I think so, yeah."

Pythagoras kept on watching him. Jason expected him to ask more questions, object or something… but in the end the man just leant back against the wall and let out a deep sigh. "Now what?"

Jason couldn't_ not_ be aware of the blazing heat of want that still throbbed painfully between his thighs, and he wanted nothing more than to reach down and palm himself to get some of the tension out of his system… but obviously, that'd have been a terrible idea to do with Pythagoras still being this close to him, looking so deliciously snogged-out.

_Huh_. Sparks of warmth and happiness spread from Jason's chest to all his limbs, entire body tingling pleasantly_._ I_ did that._ I_ snogged the hell out of him._

This made him recall just how utterly fantastic snogging Pythagoras had been, and it killed every chance of getting his brain back to functioning normally again.

After a while, Pythagoras realised that he won't be getting an answer. He took a deep, slow breath, then straightened up and stepped to the side to get out of Jason's personal space. Immediately, Jason missed the heat of his body.

A quick not-so-subtle glance let him know that Pythagoras was still just as hard as he was. However, he did a far better job of ignoring the burning arousal than Jason.

"Hercules might be waking up anytime now. I don't want him to–" Pythagoras chopped the rest and shook his head. "I'm going out for a bit."

Jason wanted to stop him – wanted to tell him that he didn't need to run away that everything was going to turn out just fine… but he knew Pythagoras was right. Hell,_ he_ needed space so he could think over all that happened and muse about what it meant for him.

Abruptly, he was filled with the want to visit the Oracle. She probably didn't concern herself with love matters and sexual orientation crises but it was worth a try. Jason couldn't remember a time he needed an advice more than now.

He was also aware that he needed to stop running away from the issue that was most pressing and finally bring himself to face just where he stood with a certain princess.

Still, he wanted to ease at least some of Pythagoras' concerns.

"Don't worry." Jason leant forward to press one last, small kiss to his friend's warm lips. "We'll work it out."

However faintly, Pythagoras smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

**Now, this was another chapter I really enjoyed writing, mainly because I could finally focus more on Hercules. I'm still not over the Mercules feels and I just really love his friendship with the boys. (Who, btw, FINALLY KISSED after, what, almost 60k words in total?! It was gratifying to write, haha.)**

**As always, feedback is loved and greatly appreciated! :3**


	4. Trials of Life

Special warning: **this chapter contains material which might be triggery for people.**

Warnings and triggers are the following:  
>- Attempted assault<br>- Homophobia and homophobic name-calling (gay bashing)  
>- Elements of sexual humiliation and violence in public<br>- Self-esteem issues and signs of destructive behaviour

You will find more info about the triggers on AO3, but if you have more questions, please contact me either here, on tumblr or on LJ (links at my profile!) and I will tell you about it in detail.

(If you want to skip the most triggery part, jump from Pythagoras leaving his friend's house to the the three exs that mark the beginning of Jason's POV.)

**Be SAFE when reading!**

* * *

><p>4.<p>

Trials of Life

.

There was no power in the world that could have stopped Pythagoras from jerking off the moment he drew the curtains of his room and collapsed on the bed. It creaked under his weight as he pulled his legs up, dragging his breeches lower with clumsy, trembling fingers. As soon as he had a hand around his hard shaft, he bit his lip and turned to bury his head into the pillow. His moan came out muffled.

He'd spent half the morning walking around the marketplace like a loony (dazed and flushed and completely unaware of the world) but it hardly did anything to ease his desire. His erection stopped being an issue in the crisp morning air, but as soon as Pythagoras came home and stepped inside, facing the wall which Jason had kissed him senseless against, arousal sprang back with full force, knocking the breath out of him.

Hercules and Jason had been chatting in Hercules' room when he arrived home, and that was all Pythagoras needed. Usually, he refrained from touching himself like this unless the house was empty or it was late at night, but right then, he was at the end of his limit.

He stroked his cock with rough, short jerks, biting into the pillow to stifle the sounds that wanted to spill from his mouth. He swallowed back curses, confessions and pleas – and even though the words sliced his throat up from the inside, he didn't let them out.

Jason had kissed him. Jason had kissed him, and it was nothing like Pythagoras had ever experienced before. He had no idea that a mere kiss could awake such an overwhelming torrent of pleasure inside him, setting his body on fire. His thoughts had been reduced to nothing but a whirlwind of chaos and he got lost in the storm.

Jason had kissed him. Had kissed him (_wanted_ to kiss him, gods!) and pulled him close and made him feel wanted and worthy and lov–

Pythagoras whimpered and accidentally bit his tongue. The sharp tang of blood filled his mouth, but he cared not for it.

The most mind-blowing fact was that Jason had done all that _by himself_, without Hekate's curse affecting him. There was a small, ugly voice in the back of Pythagoras' head telling him that it could have still been the curse – that Jason wasn't thinking straight, he just wanted to cheer Pythagoras up - but Pythagoras shoved the voice aside. The sun had already been up when it happened. Jason had explicitly stated that it was something he wanted to do – very much. And… and he'd got hard, too…

Pythagoras' strokes quickened, his heart swelled to at least twice its size and he could feel the heated blood drumming all along his body. As if there was not enough air in the room; he was short of breath, gasping and panting raggedly into the bedding.

He called himself stupid a hundred ways for letting it happen… but for the love of Aphrodite, he couldn't bring himself to regret it. He hadn't experienced this much pleasure in forever, if ever at all.

And it was not just physical pleasure, either. That was just a bonus. The most amazing thing was the all-consuming heat that curled and coiled in his chest smugly, like a purring cat. It made Pythagoras want to leap and whoop and sing. It made him want to cradle the feeling up and put it away in a safe place where he wouldn't ever lose sight of it again. Come hunger, cold, sickness or else – he would survive anything as long as he had it.

Because Jason had not only stayed by him but _considered giving him a chance_. He had kissed him with something Pythagoras didn't dare to name, told him that 'it was fantastic', that he considered what was between them a 'budding relationship' and assured Pythagoras with a gentle smile that 'they would work things out'. It was more than Pythagoras had ever hoped to have.

He could have wept from joy.

Frustrated by how he couldn't move freely, Pythagoras turned onto his back and spread his legs just a little bit wider. He had to concentrate hard on keeping quiet, and even though it was something he had great experience in, this time he was struggling. Just a mere flash of the memory of Jason's warm, insistent lips against his mouth sent Pythagoras' pulse skyrocketing. He recalled how those fingers cupped his face and stroked his cheeks, how that firm chest pressed so tight against his own, how Jason had backed him against the wall and pushed a slick tongue into his mouth with a groan that made Pythagoras' mind blank out from the shock of it…

Pythagoras' back arched as he spilled all over his hand, tasting copper on his tongue. When the spurts stopped, he let go of his wet cock and slumped down into the bed, boneless and utterly spent.

He couldn't move an inch for several long minutes, during which he tried to draw as much air into his lungs as possible, his breathing harsh and deafening in the silence of the room. After a while, he forced himself to turn around so he could grab a linen rag and clean himself up. When he was finished, he lay down once again and just stared at the ceiling.

Himeros had not granted him such an intense relief in years, and Pythagoras couldn't help but wonder if Eros had something to do with it. The god of love had shot him in the heart a long time ago, but so far, Pythagoras' feelings had remained unrequited. If there was even the slightest chance that this might not have been the case anymore…

He knew he shouldn't start blindly hoping, but the truth was, he felt much lighter than before. This is what being tipsy must be like. He still had doubts and fears and all kind of issues he didn't want to deal with, but all in all, he was considerably better than a few days ago.

Jason had not left him, and he was trying to give Pythagoras a chance. He was willing to question his preferences to try returning what Pythagoras was feeling for him. That in itself spoke volumes about Jason's affection for Pythagoras – and even if the strength of their feelings were vastly different, knowing that _something_ was there meant the world to Pythagoras.

For the first time in a while, he closed his eyes and let himself bask in the warm waves of hope.

* * *

><p>The happy feeling didn't last long.<p>

Midday found Pythagoras walking the streets with a small basket dangling on his arm, half a dozen vials jingling softly at his every step. Turning around a corner, he could already see the house of his friend, Aiolos, so he quickened his pace. He hadn't seen the man in a long time (not since Jason had arrived in Atlantis, at least) so Pythagoras was delighted when Aiolos had turned up on their doorstep earlier that morning – even if it was only so he could ask a favour.

Not that the mathematician minded. He was always happy to help, and Aiolos had been a good friend for him during the time he'd been struggling with work in the tavern. The man had been the only thing that made working there bearable, and Aiolos had kept on visiting Pythagoras long after he'd stopped working there. As the years went on, they ceased keeping in contact but whenever they ran into each other in the marketplace, they still stopped to chat for a while.

This day was the first time in forever that his friend had actively sought out Pythagoras. It had been a good time to do so; the morning had been awkward, not that Jason had ignored Pythagoras. At the same time he couldn't seem to meet his eyes – which was just as well because Pythagoras felt his face warm up whenever he so much as looked at Jason. They had both stared pointedly at the table while addressing each other. Really, it was little wonder that Hercules had been unusually quick to catch up on their issues.

"Something happen last night?" he had asked, gently grabbing Pythagoras' arm the moment Jason had disappeared behind the door to take out the trash.

"No." But Hercules had shot such a disbelieving look at Pythagoras that he'd ended up cringing and amending. "Uh… maybe something this morning."

Hercules' raised eyebrow had clearly shown that he wanted some kind of elaboration; Pythagoras however couldn't bring himself to say any more. In the end, he'd been saved by the tentative knocking on the main door.

"Pythagoras? It's, um, it's Aiolos."

Mouth dropping open is surprise, Pythagoras had pulled himself free of Hercules' grasp and dashed for the door.

Aiolos had not beat around the bush and explained that his daughter was down with an illness and he'd been hoping that Pythagoras could help her. Pythagoras was well-known for his knowledge of herbs and medical tinctures, after all, and people paid him for these qualities more often than for his excess knowledge of mathematics.

Pythagoras hadn't hesitated in saying yes. He would have helped Aiolos either way, but the request had also given him a good excuse to get away from his friends and those awkward conversations while busying himself with brewing a tonic. He'd had a vague suspicion that Hercules had simply moved onto interrogating Jason, but at least Pythagoras was left alone.

Pythagoras barely needed to knock twice on the door and Aiolos was already ushering him in with a look of immense relief on his face.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," he said, gesturing toward a room on the left side of the small house. "Kharis has tried everything she could think of, but the temperature still hasn't broken."

The tiny room was unusually warm and heavy with the smell of sweat. The small girl in the bed was sleeping restlessly, a furrow on her forehead, cheeks fever-red. She couldn't have been more than six. Beside her sat Kharis, Aiolos' wife. Pythagoras had never met her before though he'd heard much of her from Aiolos. She had a kind face, even when it was clouded over with worry.

Kharis stood up the moment she noticed Pythagoras and bowed, long black braid falling over her shoulders. Pythagoras' eyes fell to her middle instantly. She was with a child.

"Thank you so much for coming, Pythagoras! We are grateful for your help. The physician… he turned us away when he learnt that we couldn't pay for his services right now." She coloured slightly in embarrassment. "We are in your debt."

"Not at all. No physician should concern themselves with payment but with the gratitude and regained health of their patients" Pythagoras said easily. He leant down and touched the little girl's forehead. It was hot, but not dangerously so. "Her name is Sarra, right? How long has she been sick?"

"Two days. Her fever's started early last night."

After inspecting Sarra closely, Pythagoras put the basket in his lap and pulled out three vials. Starting with the tonic that would bring down her temperature, he carefully poured the liquid into the girl's mouth. Then, he grabbed a mixture of oil and rubbed it onto her temples and into the skin of her chest. Finally, he made her take a big gulp of the contents of the third vial.

"You have caught it in time," he said to the parents in the meantime. "A few more days and her lungs would have caught the sickness, too. But if you care for her with the tinctures I've made, I believe she'll be fine."

Pythagoras gave Aiolos a handful of vials and a small jar containing more of the ointment, explaining how often they should use the latter and make Sarra drink from the tonics. The tonics would not last for more than two days, but Pythagoras still had plenty of herbs at home so he reassured them that he would make more the next day.

By the time he finished with the explanations, Kharis was on the verge of crying. "Will she truly be fine?"

"We have every reason to believe so, yes," Pythagoras said, looking down at the girl with a soft smile. "She seems like a tough kid. Give her a week and she'll be running around the place like before." He stood up and then turned to Kharis again, dropping his gaze pointedly to her large belly. "When Aiolos visits me to pick up the tonics, I will give him some herbal leaves. Make tea from them and drink a cup once a day for easier delivery."

Aiolos stepped forward and squeezed the blond man's shoulder.

"Words cannot convey how grateful we are, Pythagoras," he said in a serious tone. "Thank you. As soon as I am able to, I will settle my debt to you."

"There is no need." A couple of days before he might have not been able to say it, but with twenty drachmas in their pockets, Pythagoras was not taking any money from them. "Leave an offering on Asclepius' altar, and as far as I am concerned, we are settled."

"You are too kind." Kharis took Pythagoras' hand and kissed it, making him flustered. "At least let us give you a present. It's… it's not much, but I have just baked a pie. It should still be warm. Please accept it."

"I mean it, there is no need to–" But Kharis already hurried away, only to came back a few minutes later with a wrapped bundle which she promptly gave to Pythagoras. It was warm against Pythagoras' hand, and smelled sweet even through the wrapping. "Thank you."

Aiolos smiled warmly at him as he walked Pythagoras to the door. "When Sarra gets better and I don't have to work so much, I would like to spend time with you. It's been too long since we last had enough time to talk without rushing."

"Indeed," Pythagoras said with a nod. "These are busy times for both of us."

"I can tell. You name comes up around the city rather often nowadays. Hercules, you could always hear about him in the taverns – but you? Word never really got around about you until that stranger started hanging out with you."

"Jason? Are you talking about Jason?"

"That one," Aiolos confirmed with a nod. "I remember everyone talking about him when he slayed the Minotaur. He's become a sensation, hasn't he? Imagine my surprise when I first heard your name along with his! Is it true that you were there when he killed the monster?"

"I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I was there in the caves, yes. Jason actually went there in my place. He is… He's become a good friend."

Aiolos smiled again. "Yes, I heard about that, too. He lives with you and Hercules, doesn't he?" At Pythagoras' slightly flustered nod, he scratched his jaw and grinned. "I'm sure you three have been up to much. I would really love to hear about your adventures."

Pythagoras was not used to being the centre of attention. He hadn't even known that townspeople still talked about them! But Aiolos' apparent desire to spend time with Pythagoras just to enjoy his company warmed his heart like a sip from the richest wine. It had been so long since he'd spent any considerable time with someone who wasn't Hercules or Jason, and suddenly he had a craving to say yes.

So he returned Aiolos' smile and grasped his outstretched hand. "We'll definitely make time for that."

"I'm looking forward to it." Aiolos squeezed his hand before letting Pythagoras go. "I will drop by your house the day after tomorrow to pick up the tonics, then. And thank you for everything; I can't say that enough."

"You've already said that enough," Pythagoras teased. "Take care, my friend."

"You, too."

Pythagoras hadn't felt this light in a while. Helping out others had always brought him pleasure but this – this was something else. He was proud of his actions, especially because it had nothing to do with either Hercules or Jason. It was his alone, and he treasured it.

He looked down into the basket hanging on his arm, and could already picture the wide grin Hercules would give him when Pythagoras presented the pie for his friends. They had enough money now that they could easily make their own, but this was a gift, and it would no doubt be sweeter than anything else.

Pythagoras was so preoccupied with his happy thoughts that he didn't notice the person approaching him until he suddenly had an arm wrapped around his hip.

"Hello." Unpleasant breath gushed over his face as Pythagoras jumped in surprise, jerking his head sideways to gape at the man pressed against him. "Don't jump, boy, it's me. Yeah?"

"I don't know you," he said darkly, trying to get away from the man and failing. "Let me go!"

"Why, you wound me, Pythagoras. Don't you remember? It's only been a year." He suddenly leant forward and fit his nose to Pythagoras' neck, dragging a stubble-heavy cheek over the sensitive skin. His voice dropped low and filthy. "You spread your thighs for me and moaned as I fucked you raw. You were so sweet, Pythagoras. Good as any whore. I praised you."

All the blood drained from Pythagoras' face.

Something churned in his stomach, and he felt sick. Mouth falling open, he turned to look at the smirking man… and in that moment, he recognised him. A year ago this man had been well-clad, charming and clean-shaven. He hadn't reeked of alcohol and certainly hadn't looked like a dirty homeless person. They'd met in the library and the man had showed an immense knowledge of history, so they'd talked for hours. When he had subtly hinted at wanting to spend a few hours alone with Pythagoras, the mathematician hadn't said no.

The man grinned at him.

"Ah, yes. I don't suppose you remember my name, do you? But it doesn't matter. It's good enough if you remember my cock. Filled you up good and nice, yeah?" He leant forward again, voice slurring as he touched his mouth to Pythagoras' neck. "Say, why don't you come home with me again? The wench is gone and I find myself rather _lonely."_

Pythagoras was so numb with shock that he could barely force his mouth to work.

"S-stay away from me," he managed, but his voice sounded ridiculously weak even to his own ears. "I'm not… in-interested."

He wanted to scream when the man's hold on his hip only turned stronger. "Don't say that, darling. I'm not buying it."

Bile flooded his mouth. _Oh merciful gods, let this be a nightmare. Let this be a hallucination._ Pythagoras pressed his eyes closed but could still feel the disgusting closeness of the man. He wanted to get away from him but couldn't move, didn't dare to bring attention to themselves. The streets were busy with people – what if they all saw them? What if they could hear them? Maybe they've already heard what he'd said… and they'd already known how pathetic and shameful Pythagoras was…

Heart drumming crazily in his chest, breath catching in his throat, Pythagoras knew that panic took over his body. It was stupid; he should've shoved the man away and make a run if necessary. But he was _paralysed_. Just like the old times – his father beating up his mother and Pythagoras just standing there, unable to do a damn thing to stop it from happening…

His chest heaved and his throat felt like splitting open as he swallowed around the hard lump in it.

_You can't have a panic attack, you CAN'T HAVE A PANIC ATTACK. Pull yourself together, Pythagoras, you can panic later. Come on! COME ON!_

The sheer force of that inner voice made his head spin, but it wasn't until he recognised it as _Jason's voice_ that Pythagoras managed to overcome his shock and shove the man aside. "Leave me alone!"

The grin fell from the man's face, and now he just looked affronted. "What the fuck is your problem?"

Instead of replying, Pythagoras just turned on his heels and started for the market as quickly as he could. Maybe the man would get lost if there were even more people around them… but he barely took three steps when a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"Don't you act all high and mighty on me, you cunt!" the man growled loudly. His face was red and promised murder. "You all look down on me now, eh? I was good enough when I had money, eh? Well, I'm still worth way more than a fucking _degenerate_ like you! You think anyone else would care for you cock-begging whore? You're nothing! You should be damn _grateful _I'm taking pity on you! You're spreading your legs for anyone who's got a prick to fuck you with after all, don't you, Pythagoras?"

no no no no no no no no no no no no no–

The words plunged into Pythagoras like a dagger and ripped his insides open, leaving him bleeding out in his own body.

He's never hurt this much. All the punches and kicks of his father couldn't come close to_ this_ pain. He was vaguely aware of people stopping in their tracks to gape at them, and it made him all the more sick in the stomach. And the man just grinned, all dirty teeth, triumphant.

"Or you're getting it from that pretty new friend of yours? I've seen him around. Gotta give it to you, he looks much better than the fat drunkard you've been hooking up with. I wonder if they can stretch you enough to fit both of their cocks in your arse. I'd bet they can. I'd bet you love i–"

Pythagoras didn't think as he grabbed the basket in his fist and threw it into the man's face with all the strength he could muster. Even if it didn't much damage, it took the man by surprise and allowed Pythagoras to pick up a fist-sized stone from the ground before launching toward the filthy-mouthed bastard.

He could only hit the man once before his wrist got grabbed with so much force that his bones gave out a naughty crunch. The stone fell from his palm, and then there was a loud smash… and Pythagoras saw stars.

Next he knew, he lay on the ground with his back to a wall, the back of his head and the right side of his face aching terribly. He raised his arm to his cheek and realised that his wrist was aching, too. Something trickled down onto his mouth and when he let his tongue peek out, he tasted blood. _Damnation._

The man towered above him, grabbed the front of his tunic and jerked him up from the ground.

"Don't think for a _second_ that you're better than me," he spit. The stench of his foul breath made Pythagoras dry-heave. "You belong in a brothel – except you're no boy and certainly no woman. Just a pathetic excuse of a–"

"Enough now! Let him go!"

Pythagoras was promptly dropped to the ground. Straining his neck, he looked around and was mortified to notice the huge crowd of people that had gathered around them. Some of them were watching his attacker who now took a few steps back… but most of them were just eyeing Pythagoras with a wide range of emotions: pity, contempt, indignation… Some looked outright disgusted, while a few others just seemed worried.

Pythagoras closed his eyes. He couldn't bear the weight of their stares.

"You know nothi–" The man started in rage, but the other voice cut him off.

"And I don't need to. You are harassing someone and disrupting the peace of this place. The guards are on their way." His voice suddenly came from much closer. "If I were you, I'd get lost."

Pythagoras heard a muffle curse and then the noise of retreating steps. There was silence after that, until he felt a touch on his shoulder. It made him flinch.

"It's alright. Can you stand up?" It was the same voice who told his attacker to get lost.

Pythagoras opened his eyes and was met with an older face. The man had short brown hair and several deep lines crossing his face, and he didn't smile as he helped Pythagoras up on his feet.

"What are you all staring at?" he barked, turning back to the crowd. "Got nothing better to do? Get back to your business!"

Pythagoras fixed his gaze on the ground, not daring to look up, but he couldn't close his ears against the waves of whisperings that erupted a second later. His eyes were stinging and he felt like throwing up.

Even so, he managed to force out: "Thank you."

The man turned to look at him but Pythagoras couldn't bring himself to make eye-contact. After the man had spoken, Pythagoras was glad he didn't do so.

"Nobody deserves to be stalked and get beaten up, especially by a drunk bastard who's a disgrace to the entire city. But kid, if you have really shared his bed before…" He trailed off, shaking his head with a sigh. In the end, he only said, "In your place, I'd make myself scarce for a while."

He patted Pythagoras' shoulder and left without another word.

Pythagoras couldn't move. He hurt all over, and the worst of the ache came from the inside: shame crept up his limbs, clutched and tugged and his heart with sharp spikes, pulling it down into the pit of his stomach and leaving an empty void in his chest.

They hadn't said anything he hadn't known already. At one point or another, those thoughts had crossed his mind… even though he'd tried to crawl them out of his head every time, scraping with mental fingers until he felt like bleeding.

And yet…

As he turned around, he spotted his discarded basket on the ground. It was intact, but the pie was now nothing more but a disgusting mess in the dirt.

The memory of being happy for the gift – of enjoying his friend's company, the family's gratitude – seemed so far away like it'd happened in another lifetime. Pythagoras couldn't feel an ounce of warmth in his body.

He felt tainted… and _stupid_ for allowing himself to believe even for a second that he and Jason could work. He should have known all along that_ this_ – this is what he would be dragging Jason down to. He'd lost sight of this fact.

It was not going to happen again. Not anymore.

* * *

><p>xxx<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey. You've been gone for lo–" As soon as he raised his eyes, Jason's voice died off. For a second, he couldn't do anything but stare at his friend in dread… and then he sprang up from the chair. "Jesus Christ, Pythagoras! What happened to you?"<p>

Jason sprinted to the mathematician and raised his arm to help, but Pythagoras batted his hand away. He walked to the table without saying a word, dropped onto the chair and just stared at the ground with a face that gave nothing away.

"Pythagoras?"

Jason went back to sit in front of him. Something pulled at his stomach painfully as he got a closer look at his friend. Pythagoras was pale as a ghost, had dried blood under his nose and on the corner of his mouth, the right side of his cheek was swollen and red, and there was a bruise forming under his right eye. But his expression was the most terrifying: cold and hard, like a robot, mouth set in a thin line, eyes icy and soulless.

Whatever happened to him, it wasn't just a punch in the face.

"Pythagoras, please," Jason repeated, now almost sick with worry. "What happened?"

The mathematician opened his mouth, but for a couple of moments no sound came out. When he did speak, it was with a voice so dead and distant it was _terrifying… _and his answer made Jason wish he hadn't asked in the first place.

"A past fling of mine deemed it was high time to remind me just how pathetic of a manwhore I am."

Jason flinched, the words snapping against him like a whip. "Pythagoras…"

"He reminded me just how much I loved getting fucked by him," the man continued dryly, ignoring the way Jason cringed at the demeaning, mercilessly spat-out words. "How I, the _degenerate_ that I am, spread my legs and begged for his cock."

"Pythagoras, stop it."

"Because obviously, I should be locked up in a brothel. No one would ever care for someone like me, anyway.

"Stop it!"

"After all, I am nothing but a _cock-begging whor–_"

"Goddamnit, Pythagoras, SHUT UP!"

Jason slammed his fist into the wall so hard his knuckles gave out a nasty crunch but he barely registered it. His roar finally made Pythagoras shut his mouth and meet Jason's gaze, but to Jason's utter horror, there was not a hint of remorse on his friend's face. On the contrary: his expression was colder than ever before, and his gaze made sickening chills run down Jason's spine.

It was heart-breaking to see.

"Don't say that," Jason begged on a whisper.

"Why not?" Pythagoras bowed his head and stared at his clenched fists absently. "It's the truth."

"No, it's not!" Jason crossed the distance to Pythagoras in two steps, dropped to his knees on the ground so they could be at face-level and took the man's hands, not letting go even when the mathematician tried tugging them free. "It's could not be further away from the truth. Why would you listen to what a fucking asshole says? You're not…" He couldn't repeat those vile words. He _couldn't._ Even unsaid, they burnt the inside of his mouth like acid. "You're not any of those things."

"I desire men, even though I am an adult man myself. And I _enjoy _submitting myself. I do like getting fucked and don't have an ounce of want for women." Pythagoras swallowed hard; a small crack on the hard, unflinching mask he wore. "In the eyes of the society, that makes me worse than any whores working in a pleasure house."

"Fuck them. Fuck them all. They don't know you." Jason let go of Pythagoras' then, only to be able to cup his face in both hands and force him to meet his eyes. "I don't care what anyone thinks. You shouldn't, either. Because _there is nothing wrong with you."_

Something broke visibly in Pythagoras' eyes. In one second, he just stared unblinking at Jason… but then his gaze shattered to pieces, his forehead wrinkling up with the rawest expression of pain Jason had ever seen on his face. He snapped his eyes shut and sucked his lower lip in, biting on it so hard it turned almost white. Jason watched helplessly as the blond lashes fluttered and darkened from dampness, and he wanted to kill someone.

"You keep saying that," Pythagoras choked out in a raspy voice, "but even I know how messed-up I am. Jason, there are places where wanting what I want is punishable by _death!_ Even if Atlantis is more tolerant than that… I am not a warrior having an epic romance with my brother-in-arms. Nor am I a boy being taken up by a patron. Whatever relationship I will ever have, people will condemn me for it for the rest of my life. Me and whomever's poor soul I end up dragging down with myself." Opening his eyes, now wet, shiny and red, he pinned Jason down with his gaze. "Don't you understand what I am saying?"

When understanding did dawn on Jason, it wiped every expression clean off his face, replacing them with shock… and then white-hot anger.

His hands fell from Pythagoras' cheeks to his shoulders to squeeze them hard.

"Damn it, Pythagoras, you can't do this," Jason hissed. "You _can't!_ I told you, I _told you_ that you can't make decisions in my place. You don't get to decide if you're worth it or not, do you understand? Only _I _do!"

"I don't want to be your downfall!"

"You won't be!'

"How would you know?!" Pythagoras cried. "Even after all this time, you've just begun to grasp the ways of Atlantis! You could… you could be so much more, Jason! You have it in you; a bright future where everyone respects you… I will not take that away from you! I will not!"

"When will you get that you _don't get to decide that?!"_

His voice echoed in the room with the force of an unforgiving thunder. Jason and Pythagoras stared at each other from mere inches, panting, their faces twisted in rage and eyes throwing daggers. Jason's heart was drumming like crazy, threatening to crush his ribs from the inside, his throat so tight it hurt to swallow, and he belatedly noticed that he was clutching at Pythagoras so much his knuckles were turning white.

Yet Pythagoras didn't make a sound. He returned Jason's gaze with the stubbornness of a man firmly believing himself to be right, only his rapidly falling chest and clenched fists betraying the storm raving inside.

This was the first time they have really fought with each other, Jason realised. They'd had a few disagreements, sure, but nothing like this. Never like this.

He understood what Pythagoras was trying to accomplish. He really did: the man wanted to scare Jason off by shoving the cruel reality hard in his face. He wanted to _protect_ him, deeming himself unworthy of whatever Jason had to offer.

It was so utterly Pythagoras that it actually hurt. This stupid act of selflessness made Jason see red.

Why couldn't Pythagoras grasp that he had no right to make these decisions for Jason? Especially concerning whatever was between them. And it was rather demeaning that Pythagoras believed Jason to be so shallow that he would stop caring for him because of the vile words of an asshole. (Who, by the way, Jason needed to hunt down and skin alive. Fucking hell.)

Pythagoras never took anything for himself. Even if he wanted something, he'd rather give it up without trying than to risk breaking it. This knowledge made Jason's heart ache.

He pulled back a few inches, breathed in, then slowly let it out. When he spoke after that, his voice was quiet, if a bit hoarse. "I'm sorry for shouting."

Pythagoras' gaze lost its sharp edge. He let his eyes drop after a second. "Yeah. Me, too."

"I understand that you are trying to protect me," Jason stated firmly. "I really do. But if you think you are doing me a favour… let me tell you that you aren't. I'm not flattered, nor happy, nor relieved. Look, I don't care how fucked up the people of Atlantis are. I don't care if they think you preferring men is wrong, or that they would look down on me if I were to start a relationship with you. Neither is any of their goddamn business."

"You say that now, but you don't know what it's like to be hated," Pythagoras murmured quietly. "My preferences were common knowledge in Samos but people didn't really care back then because I was young. Still, by brother never made his dislike of it a secret. And in Atlantis… I, I've always made myself scarce and didn't really have that many sexual encounters… but still, word would travel fast among certain groups. And though never stated as explicitly as today, they never held back what they thought about me. Whenever I have... slept with someone, they would made it obvious that they were doing me a favour. Never out loud, never into my face. But I could see it in their eyes."

Jason's hands slid down so he could cup Pythagoras' hands again. His fingers were cold, and they trembled slightly in his palm.

"I slept with women, too. Just a couple of times. But it was…" Pythagoras took a shaky breath and kept silent for a long moment. "It was Hercules' idea. A month or so into our acquaintance, he decided it was a good idea for us to visit a brothel. I didn't want to… I mean, I… But I couldn't tell him. About me. I _couldn't_ – I was scared he would send me away the moment he knew about it."

"I was so nervous I couldn't do anything, but she was really understanding. She thought I was a virgin and had been tricked by friends to go there, so she pretended I bedded her." Pythagoras closed his eyes. "Hercules took me back a few times and I… well, I could do it, but I always felt terrible. Then the… incident happened with the men from the tavern. I don't know what Hercules had heard from them, but after that night he never suggested me going with him to the brothel again. I assume that was when he learnt about my preferences."

"Jason." Blue eyes bore into Jason's own, dark and pleading. "No matter how discreet I tried to be, being like this has always been hard on me. And when you… when you said you were thinking about it, it made me insanely happy. I felt like floating. But now… Now, I just don't want this for you. I don't want you to bear the same stigma that I do."

Jason couldn't deny that the society's apparent rejection over homosexual relationships, unless applied to special individuals under defined circumstances, made him uncertain, but it wasn't getting in the way of his feelings for the mathematician. He'd been telling the truth when he said that he didn't care for what others thought about him. Maybe his life would be more difficult. And? It was difficult enough already. He wouldn't want Pythagoras to hold himself back if it concerned some other guy, and he certainly didn't want him do that when it concerned Jason himself.

He just wanted Pythagoras to be happy. And to make him see that whatever his asshole father or other bastards had claimed, there really was nothing wrong with him.

"You know," he started quietly, "where I came from, there are queer… I mean, people with your preferences, too. And there are always those who hate them at spit spiteful words whenever they have the chance, sure, but smart people accept it as personal preference that has got nothing to do with either 'wrong' or 'right'. It's just the way you are. And nobody has the right to make you feel ashamed of yourself."

Jason's thumb stroked the back of Pythagoras' hand, and he could feel his blood thrumming under the thin skin of his wrist. He leant close and made sure that his voice was firm and confident when saying, "I don't care about any of it. I only care about you."

Pythagoras breath hitched, and it didn't escape Jason's notice.

"If I decide to start a relationship with you and you are on board with that, then that will be it – 'social stigma' or anything else be damned. I don't care about my public image. I won't let it affect what I feel for you. And I sure as hell won't let them make you feel ashamed of yourself ever again."

Raising his arms, he gently cradled Pythagoras' face and watched as the man's shoulders sagged, his eyes falling closed. Jason stroked his cheek and Pythagoras leant into the touch instinctively, so he kept doing it to give his friend comfort.

"Please don't believe a word those assholes say. Believe _me_. Believe _Hercules._ Believe your friends who accept you as you are."

Pythagoras' throat was working, Jason could see it, but the words wouldn't come out. Tears were welling up in his eyes, and even though he shut them, Jason could see the small pearls of liquid seeping through and settling on his damp lashes.

After long, silent minutes with only their harsh breathing serving as noise, Pythagoras finally found his voice.

"It was so horrible," he whispered brokenly.

Jason swallowed hard, wondering what to say. But Pythagoras wasn't finished.

"I was shocked and numb. I couldn't move an inch as he kept spitting those things when I said I won't go with him… but then he started badmouthing you and Hercules, and I c-couldn't walk away after that, I couldn't, I just, _I lost it._ I couldn't bear him saying filth about you."

_Oh Pythagoras._

Jason wrapped his arms around the mathematician. It didn't take a second to feel Pythagoras' fingers tangle in the front of his tunic, clutching at Jason like he was a life belt. He seemed raw and exposed, and Jason would've given anything to be able to take his pain away.

"I couldn't listen to it," Pythagoras choked out. "They can say whatever they want about me but not you two. I won't allow for that."

Jason put the rest together. "You hit him?"

Pythagoras nodded. "But I couldn't do much before he grabbed and punched me. I'm sure he'd have beaten me up were it not for that other man who came to help me. Everyone was watching us, Jason. They just stood there… watching and listening…" He pressed his forehead onto Jason's chest as if he wanted to disappear. "And even that one man condemned me for sleeping with the guy in the first place. And he was right to. I… I feel sick for ever letting him… wanting him to…"

He trailed off and never finished.

When he next spook after another couple of minutes, the longing in his voice made Jason's heart ache again. "I don't want any of this. Why can't I just be like normal people?"

"Normal people don't get to be world-known mathematicians. It's only going to be you."

He could hear Pythagoras snicker and knew that the man didn't believe a word.

Pythagoras didn't say more after that and Jason let him. His knees hurt like bitch from kneeling on the ground and he was really uncomfortable in this position, but he wouldn't have moved if someone plunged a sword in his side. He kept one hand on Pythagoras' waist and stroked his soft hair with the other, resting his jaw on the crown of the blond head. Pythagoras was still breathing harshly, but after a while, his shaking slowly started to subside, breathe evening out. His fingers however stayed tangled firmly in Jason's tunic.

Jason didn't realise he had started dropping small kisses onto Pythagoras' head until his friend let out a soft, quiet hum. For a moment, he froze, but then pressed another, longer kiss to Pythagoras' forehead.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," he mumbled quietly into the messy curls of hair. "But if they can't see how amazing you are, it's their loss."

Pythagoras let out a small huff of air. He hummed again when Jason's fingers brushed against his ear, and then raised his head to look at Jason. Finally, there was warmth in his eyes. "Thank you."

Jason stroked Pythagoras' cheek once more before leaning forward to kiss him softly on the lips.

Pythagoras made a startled noise and pulled back instantly – and though Jason wanted to chase and reclaim his lips, he stopped himself and met his friend's eyes evenly. Pythagoras' expression held a million questions and Jason answered each and every one of those with his own, the need to actually voice them never surfacing at all.

After what felt like an hour's worth of time, Pythagoras finally seemed to relax and his gaze darted down to Jason's mouth. His lips parted lightly, fingers suddenly clenching Jason's tunic tighter. He met Jason's eyes again, as if to double-check, and this time he was the one who leant forward and tentatively fitted their mouths together.

The first gentle drag of their lips was like a honeyed balm caressing through Jason's soul. For a long while it was nothing but slow, close-mouthed kisses pressed deeper and deeper each time, and it was good, it was_ perfect _– nothing short of a right wonder. Jason kept stroking Pythagoras' cheeks, careful of the bruise under his right eye, and after a while, the mathematician started returning the gentle exploration. His fingertips brushed along Jason's cheek and jaw, leaving a warm, tingling trail behind, then cradled his neck and pushed into the dark mess of hair. When he teased the seam of Jason's mouth with his tongue, Jason opened up for him without hesitation – and the shiver that washed through him as Pythagoras licked into his mouth was all sorts of amazing. He couldn't suppress a tiny moan.

Pythagoras pressed in deep, kissing him slow and delicate. It was nothing like the frantic make-out from before but just as good – so good, in fact, that Jason didn't even care about the coppery taste of dried blood he could feel seeping in from the corner of Pythagoras' mouth.

When Pythagoras pulled back a bit to gasp against Jason's wet mouth, the sound he made filled Jason's limbs with liquid fire. It wasn't the fiery arousal from the day before, but something equally powerful; hot, deep and all-consuming on its own.

Dragging Pythagoras back, he resumed kissing him with slow-burning passion, enjoying the sensation of their swollen lips sliding wetly against each other, searching, finding and exploring. His nerve endings felt raw along his entire body, exposed to something Jason wasn't used to experiencing – but he found himself wanting it, craving it… _needing _it like air.

Jason had no idea how much time have passed until they parted reluctantly.

Pythagoras' eyes were shut close, his breathing finally slow and steady. A pink tongue peeked out to trace his lips as if to savour the lingering taste of Jason, and the sight made funny things to Jason's stomach.

He needed a second or two to clear his throat and rasp out, "We should probably get you cleaned up."

"Yes."

Jason stood up and winced immediately, almost falling back to the ground. Damn, his knees felt awful and he could barely stand straight. Pythagoras noticed it, too, and opened his mouth, but Jason waved a hand before his friend could have gotten out what was no doubt an apology.

He collected a bowl of water and some linen rags before going back to Pythagoras and settling down next to him by the table (this time on a chair, for which his knees were eternally grateful). He dipped the tip of the cloth into the cool water and started to clean off the dried remains of blood from the mathematician's face. Pythagoras was silent through it, though he winced a bit when Jason accidentally touched the bruise under his eye.

"Sorry," Jason muttered. "Do you have something for that? Your cheek is swollen, too."

"There is a salve on the second shelf in my room. The one I used for Hercules' arm last month. That should do it."

Jason retrieved said salve and worked it into Pythagoras's skin as gently as he could. His fingertips tingled pleasantly from the intimate touch, and if the fluttering of Pythagoras' closed eyelashes or his soft humming was anything to go by, his friend enjoyed the administrations, too.

After he was finished, Jason pressed a small kiss onto Pythagoras' mouth. He only intended it to be a peck, really, but Pythagoras clearly had other ideas: he threaded his fingers into Jason's hair, grasped his nape and fixed him in place, so they ended up making out leisurely for another couple of minutes. Jason had no complaints at all about this turn of events.

After pulling away, Pythagoras' piercing blue eyes watched Jason like he was afraid that what he was seeing was merely an apparition. "I keep wondering–"

"Don't," Jason cut in, shaking his head. "Have some faith in me, would you."

The smile Pythagoras graced him with in response was tiny – no more than a curl of lips, really – but so amazingly soft and warm that Jason wanted to snatch it up and shove it to a place in his body where he would always feel the tingling heat radiating from it.

"Since you have entered my life, I have done little else."

* * *

><p>Originally, Jason had wanted to visit the Oracle after lunch, but what happened to Pythagoras had changed his plans. He didn't leave his friend's side all afternoon, keeping him company – which in the end resulted in Jason receiving an elaborate lesson about the wonders of unique angles and special geometrical shapes. Jason did not mind it in the least. It was a sign that Pythagoras was feeling better and it made Jason relieved beyond words.<p>

They also shared some more kisses, and those, too, seemed to be getting better each time. Jason seriously wondered if he was developing an addiction… until he decided that _whatever_, it mattered nothing. Making out with Pythagoras was easily the best thing he'd discovered since coming to Atlantis – and okay, he might have been a bit drunk on the novelty of it, but there was no harm in that.

When Hercules came home hours later, his appearance abruptly popped their little balloon of serenity.

"What the hell happened to you?!"

Pythagoras froze in place, the smirk on his face (he'd been teaching Jason how to play a board game he had recently acquired, named Diagramismos, and obviously, he was winning) disappearing in a blink of a second. Even Jason couldn't help but tense up.

There had been no blood on the mathematician's face by then and he'd lost the ghostly paleness, but the tell-tale bruise and swell of his cheek were still rather prominent.

Pythagoras dropped his eyes and fell silent, and Jason could almost see him putting the mental walls back up around himself. He had no doubt that the last thing Pythagoras wanted was to go through talking about what had happened to him all over again.

But still… Hercules was clearly shocked to find Pythagoras in this state, and the sight made him worried beyond words. Jason knew better than to come between them (they needed to talk this out, just the two of them) so he squeezed Pythagoras's hand reassuringly before excusing himself and leaving the house.

Figuring that the Oracle probably wasn't accepting visitors at this hour but still feeling the need to see her, Jason set out for the Temple of Poseidon.

The sun was setting soon, so he didn't except to find many prayers in the building. And he was right: a few priests were standing by the altar, but them aside, only a couple of citizens were kneeling there in silence. Jason looked up at the enormous statue of the bull that stood so majestically in the centre of the chamber… and almost missed the woman who suddenly turned around to face him in surprise.

"Jason?"

Jason snapped his head in the direction of the voice… and his stomach sank to the bottom of his body.

After finding that yes, it was indeed Jason, a relieved smile broke out on Ariadne's face. She composed herself shortly after and didn't let her delight at seeing Jason slip out in the open again, but it was still obvious that she was pleased to see him.

She looked around once before walking to Jason and stopping just half a metre short of him. Her smile was small but shone like a brilliant star just hung up from the night sky. She was… beautiful. Breathtakingly so.

Jason stomach did a strange flip that left him breathless. He wanted to turn around and back out of the temple without looking back. _I don't want to talk with her. I am not ready to talk with her. I… _

But he knew that he owed her that much. And _more._

So he stayed.

"Hello, Ariadne."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

**This was the lowest point, I promise - things will only get better now. :)**

**Thank you for reading! Reviews are always welcomed~**


	5. The Decisions We Make

**A/N: Hi folks! I'm terribly sorry for the huge delay; RL got in the way. :( Those who has sent me messages asking if I was okay and assuring me not to worry about the break: you are all so lovely and I cannot thank you enough. :3**

**And now, have an extra long chapter!**

* * *

><p>5.<p>

The Decisions We Make

.

Ariadne smiled warmly at Jason, though her expression was soon taken over by concern. She looked around and once she determined that nobody was paying them any attention, she turned back to the man.

"Are you feeling alright? I haven't heard from you in long, and even when I last saw you, you were…" She trailed off, obviously still unsure of what had been going on that night, and Jason felt his cheeks warm up.

"Er, yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Um… Do you think we could talk?"

"In private?" At Jason's nod, Ariadne walked away, finding Melos and whispering quietly to him. When Melos raised his head and his gaze landed on Jason, the younger man dropped his eyes and stared at the floor until Ariadne came back. "The Oracle doesn't take visitors now but we are allowed to enter the inner chambers. We will have more privacy there."

"Great. Thank you."

Jason was looking at his feet while trailing behind the princess. A few times, he caught a glimpse of Ariadne's ankles and the sight did funny things to his stomach.

The deeper they went, the more flustered he had become; his heart was thumping in his throat by then and it gradually picked up a fast rhythm. God, he didn't want to talk to her. What the hell would he say? "_I'm starting to think I've gone gay for my best friend"?_ "_I've realised I really love making out with Pythagoras_"? "_I have a thing for this guy but I still feel something for you and I don't want to hurt you and I have absolutely _no idea_ about what am I doing so could we please still be friends?" _He could hardly expect understanding from Ariadne when he could not understand it himself.

It was not like they had promised each other anything, Jason told himself. There had been a kiss, true, and that was the sweetest thing he had ever experienced (well… at least until the slow kisses he had shared with Pythagoras this afternoon) but things had changed significantly and he wasn't going to play with Ariadne. Not now, not ever. She deserved better.

And if she resented him for it, Jason would accept it.

They finally reached the chamber of the seer. If not for the warm, dancing light of the torches, the darkness would have been suffocating. Ariadne went to the marble bench that run around the side of the circular room and sat down, organising her dress neatly. The orange lights from the fire caught on the embroidery of the dress and the golden necklace she wore, and they glittered mesmerizingly in the light.

Only when Ariadne cleared her throat did Jason realise that he had been staring at her cleavage rather inappropriately. Blushing, he raised his head and crossed the distance to Ariadne, sitting down beside her – not too close but not far away, either.

Now he just had to speak up.

It was harder than he had imagined, but in the end, he didn't have to.

"I sense that something is troubling you," Ariadne observed softly, searching Jason's face. "What's on your mind?"

"I… A lot," Jason confessed. He was fiddling with his fingers idly, and couldn't really bring himself to meet the princess' gaze. "A lot has happened since we last saw of each other. Even before that, actually. Something happened… or more like, I realised something important a few weeks ago… and it turned my life upside down."

"What was it?"

"It's… you won't like it."

Ariadne tensed up, yet her voice stayed soft and encouraging. It washed over Jason like a calming breeze, or the cool caress of a gently flowing stream. "Tell me, Jason. Can I help?"

"No. You can't." Jason took a deep breath and held it for a long second before slowly exhaling. The words were sitting on the tip of his mouth, bitter and cutting, and he wanted to swallow them back… but forced them out with a rush. "I think I've fallen for someone."

His confession was met with silence. Then a barely audible, "Oh."

Jason bit down on his tongue, but now that this much was out, he wasn't going to stop.

"A few weeks ago it came to my knowledge that someone who is very dear to me is, in fact, in love with me. At first, I was shocked because… I've never thought about my friend in that way. But… but then I started thinking about it and… stuff happened, and now I'm not sure I couldn't reciprocate." He recalled Pythagoras' face, his drowsy smiles; the way he fit so perfectly in Jason's arms as they embraced; the smell of his skin and the sparkling of his eyes. "No, that's not true. I know that I _am _reciprocating. I feel that love, too. I'm not sure if it's of the same strength or not, but there's no going around the fact that I feel more than friendship. It's just… Damn, this is so hard to speak about!"

Jason was suddenly overly aware of the silence. He wanted to swallow, but his mouth felt dry as a desert, and there was a huge lump pulling his throat tight. Still, he had to be brave. He owed at least this much to Aridne – so he braced himself and glanced to his side.

Ariadne was watching him intently. There was no shock, nor puzzlement or anger on her face… just deep, profound sadness. Her eyes that had been twinkling with delight since their meeting were now dark and dulled, her mouth slightly open, corners drooping down.

She was royalty. She was used to not letting her emotions show, especially not her pain.

But right then, looking into her eyes, Jason couldn't see anything else.

Ariadne's gaze flickered down, her fingers tightening in the creases of her dress. "I see."

"Ariadne…"

"No, it's… it's alright, Jason. You have found someone dear to your heart – that's nice. It should be the cause of joy."

"I know. But I feel like breaking in two."

Oh, how true it was. The situation was pulling Jason in two directions, tearing him apart with such a force that he could almost feel it with every breath he took. The last couple of days had certainly intensified what had already been lurking in his heart, and now he couldn't look at Pythagoras with the same eyes he had done a mere month ago… but his newfound attraction for the man hadn't annulled what he felt for Ariadne.

Even after kissing Pythagoras more times than he could have count, liquid warmth flooded Jason's chest when he looked at the princes. He wanted to close their distance, wind his arms around her form that suddenly seemed so vulnerable, press a kiss to her forehead and reassure her that everything was going to be alright. The utter resignation on her face made his heart ache something terrible. His fingers dug into his palm so hard he could feel his nails leaving tiny crescents behind.

He loved Ariadne. It was different from the love he harboured for Pythagoras… and Jason had come to accept that his love for the man went further than his love for Ariadne… but it was there nonetheless. He couldn't imagine a time when it could stop being true. No matter what reason it had happened for, some part of his heart belonged – and would _always _belong – to Ariadne.

"If there was a way to double myself," he muttered after a while, "I'd do it in a heartbeat. Then I wouldn't have to feel so torn over this."

Ariadne's mouth curled into a small smile. "That wouldn't do either, Jason. You are one of a kind. Even if you could be doubled, one of the two versions would eventually stop being you."

"But I don't want to choose! I love you both!"

Jason surprised himself with the force of her shout, Ariadne however just chuckled – even if Jason could see that her eyes were welling up with unshed tears. Her pink lips trembled slightly as she turned to face Jason fully, took ahold of his hands and bore her wet gaze into his.

"Close your eyes, Jason." She waited until Jason did as told, and only then did she continue. "Picture yourself in three years, waking up after a relaxing night. The light coming from the window blinds you momentarily as you blink the sleepiness out of your eyes. You turn on your side where someone is watching you with a smile. Now… who do you see?"

Even before Ariadne finished describing the scene and asked her question, Jason could see the soft, brilliant smile Pythagoras had always greeted him with. It was very similar to the memory of waking up next to the mathematician on that morning following their return from Helios… but in this new scene, Jason was holding Pythagoras' hand in his own and they were so close that he could feel the man's soft exhale on his own lips. Upon noticing that Jason was now awake, Pythagoas' twinkling blue eyes softened, and he whispered "good morning" before moving closer and fitting their mouths together.

It was only ever him.

Ariadne didn't need an answer from Jason: she could read it from his face clearly.

"See? It is not a question," she said kindly. So kindly, in fact, that it was outright torturous. Jason didn't deserve kindness from her. "Your heart has already chosen."

Jason gulped thickly. "Why aren't you angry? I know we didn't promise each other anything, but…"

"But there was potential. Yes." Ariadne let out a long sigh, and let go of Jason, her hands falling to her side. "I'm not angry. I have no right to be."

"But then what are you? Are you… sad?"

"Sad? Jason, I feel like there is a _hollow_ in my chest. Like you have just ripped my heart out!" She laughed without joy, and a tear rolled down on her cheek, leaving a streak of shining path behind. Jason wished he could have brought himself to wipe it away. "Even though… even though I knew, _I knew _that we couldn't possibly be together… I still hoped. Futile as it was, I hoped."

"I'm sorry." Jason's voice cracked on the apology.

"I know."

'I'm so sorry."

"I know."

"I'm sorry, Ariadne, I'm so sorry… I'm so… I didn't want to hurt you, I didn't. I'm sorry. I'm… I…" Jason didn't realise he was pulled close until he felt her palms cradling his cheeks, soft fingers brushing against the graze of his stubble. Her sweet flowery scent hit his nose, filling up his lungs, and the gentle flow of her hair tickled the skin of his neck. Ariadne pressed a feather-like kiss to his jaw, at which Jason let out a sound like that of a wounded animal. "I'm so sorry!"

She pressed her forehead against his jaw and shushed quietly, even while she herself was crying soundlessly. On an instinct, Jason let his arms fall around her slender body. For the first time ever he pulled her as close as possible, until there was no space between them. Hot tears fell on his neck, fingers curled into the front of his tunic, but Jason cared for nothing. He just kept on murmuring broken apologies into the woman's hair as they both grieved for what had not come to pass between them.

"I'm still going to save you," Jason whispered, stroking the back of her head. "I won't let Heptarian near you. You will marry for _love_, I'll make sure of that. You'll be happy, Ariadne. Just wait, you'll see. You'll be happy, I swear on my life."

"What are we doing, Jason?" Ariadne chuckled wetly into his shoulder. "This… isn't becoming."

"I don't care."

She snuggled close. Jason could feel the fluttering of her damp eyelashes on his skin. "Me neither."

They stayed like that for a long time, even after Ariadne's trembling had stopped and her tears had dried up. Goosebumps broke out on Jason's body from the chilliness of the room, but he didn't give a damn. He just kept stroking Ariadne's shoulders and back, keeping her warm and trying his damn best to keep her heart intact – even as his own was crumbling from pain.

He had no idea that breaking someone's heart could be so painful for the breaker. He had thought that nothing could hurt him as much as the expression he had seen on Pythagoras' face earlier on that day… but this was something entirely different, and yet equally painful. It left him breathless, and aching in places he hadn't known he could ache.

Part of his heart was missing, and Jason knew without doubt that it would never come back.

Araidne eventually pulled away from him. Her eyes were red and puffy, her mouth redder than usual, and even though she had attempted to smile at Jason, he saw no delight in her expression. He wondered if he would ever see her genuine smile directed at him again.

"You are aware that it won't be easy, right?" she asked quietly. "People can be cruel… especially when met with things they do not understand or are not used to."

"I… yes? I mean…" Blinking a few times, Jason cleared his throat. "Sorry, what?"

"If you feel as strongly for him as I believe you do, don't let others ruin your happiness. Be there for him, and let him be there for you."

Jason's mouth parted in a startled gasp. He quickly backtracked their conversation… but no, he was pretty sure he hadn't let slip anything that could have hinted at the gender of the subject of his affections. If outright forgoing the use of the female pronouns hadn't been the one to do the trick.

Catching his flabbergasted expression, a bittersweet smile appeared on Ariadne's face.

"I took you in my heart, Jason. I know you, even if I don't know him." She glanced away. "He set himself on fire for you. That was also rather telling."

His jaw hit the floor. "_What?"_

"A few days ago your friends came looking for me. It was when they had asked me to give them some silver so they could help you." Her eyes found Jason's again. "That young man set himself on fire to attract the guard's attention while your other friend spoke to me. Did they not tell you about that?"

"No, they didn't. Hell, that _stupid_ oaf! Why does he always–"

Ariadne's small laugh halted his words.

"He seems like a gentle person," she noted, though her expression and her voice made it clear that it was actually a question.

"He is. The gentlest person I've ever known. His heart is made of gold, I swear. I just wish he'd care about himself as much as he cares about everyone else."

He worried his lower lip, suddenly not sure if it was wise to tell these things to the woman he had just, for all intents and purposes, broken up with. But a quick glance at his side revealed that Ariadne was smiling softly. Sorrow and grief were still sitting in her eyes, but she at least appeared content that Jason found such a person.

"Are you not… offended? By the, uh, guy thing?" Jason found himself asking, a hot blush spreading all over his face.

Ariadne had also turned a shade pinker, but she managed to stay graceful as she shook her head. "No. I am all too aware that you cannot set the direction your heart will pull in."

Her smile drooped again. Jason desperately wished for the bright softness of it to come back, but he knew that there was nothing he could have done about it, not after telling her that he had chosen someone else.

It was getting late, he realised, and though he trusted Melas completely, he didn't want people to start wondering as to what the princess had been doing so long with a nobody like him. So he squeezed Ariadne's hands one last time before releasing them and getting up.

"I should, uh, go home."

Ariadne stood up as well and smoothed down her dress. Her expression had closed off – she had put her royal mask back on. Jason wished to see the day when she never had to use it anymore.

"Thank you for being honest with me."

Jason shook his head. "You don't have to thank me for that."

"I know. But I wanted to." She opened her mouth but the words got swallowed back. Still, her carefully designed mask of royal detachment cracked for a second. "I… I wish you happiness, Jason. Truly. May you have it until your last breath."

"For the love of god, don't talk like this is the last time we see each other." Jason licked his dry lips nervously. "You will always be dear to me. Nothing's ever gonna change that. Anything you need, anything you want, I will try my best to help you. You can count on me, just like before."

"Thank you," Ariadne said with a small smile. She hesitated for a second, but then came to a decision: she tilted her head up and gently touched their mouths together. Her lips dragged slowly against his, but the kiss wasn't claiming, not at all like it had been with Pythagoras.

This was a kiss of goodbye; a goodbye to what could have grown between them.

Ariadne pulled back. They stared at each other in silence until Ariadne stepped back and turned around. "Good night, Jason."

He watched her go with the knowledge that she took something irretrievable with her.

"Good night, Ariadne."

* * *

><p>Outside, the night was already pitch black, with only the moon casting silvery spots of light onto the quiet street and dark houses. Jason stared absently in front of himself, his thoughts far away.<p>

If only there had been a way to keep Ariadne. She was a bright spot for him, something that shone with the brilliance of a hundred moons, and it pained Jason that he had to let her go. But he knew he had made the right decision.

Jason loved Pythagoras. He was, quite possibly, _in love_ with him. He couldn't imagine his life without him anymore, just like he couldn't trick his heart into conjuring up anyone else but him in the scene Ariadne had described for him. Even if she hadn't been a princess but a normal woman actually within Jason's reach… he would still have chosen Pythagoras over her.

Knowing this however didn't make their break any easier to bear.

Still, Jason was determined to keep being a good friend to Ariadne. She would probably need some time to adjust, to grieve her love and give up on him, but Jason would wait. And when Ariadne was ready, he would reach for her hand again and never let go. She deserved to be happy, and Jason would fight for that until his last breath.

All in all, finally forcing himself through this conversation had been really good. Jason felt lighter than he had done in the last couple of days… or weeks, if he wanted to be really honest. Being torn between two desires had proven to be terribly exhausting on his mind, but now a huge weight was off of his shoulders. He was confident in the path he had chosen to take. Even if he still had questions – like whether he was actually ready to commit to Pythagoras and turn things physical with him – he knew he would eventually get to the place that was meant for him.

Now he only wanted to let Pythagoras know. Especially after the ordeal of today, his friend needed something to take his mind off of what had happened and to reassure him that what he was and what he wished for were not things he had to be ashamed of. He needed to be reassured that he could… _would_ find happiness.

That Jason wanted to be the key to that.

When he reached the house he had come to call his home, Jason was careful to go upstairs as quietly as he could. Light was still pouring out of the windows so his friends must had been awake, but he didn't want to disturb them. He had no idea how much time had passed since he'd left home, but it was entirely possible that Pythagoras and Hercules might have needed more time to talk things through.

Jason peeked inside, ready to back out if needed, but the table was empty. The door to Hercules' room was half open however, and Jason could hear faint murmuring coming from behind it. He didn't have to guess who the voice belonged to, since Hercules snapped angrily a second later.

"What do you mean you don't know? You can't tell me that you went home with him without asking for his name at least! You are not stupid!"

Another murmuring, this time followed by a deep sigh. "Pythagoras, please."

Jason hesitated in the doorway. _What to do? Should I turn around and walk some more on the streets? Or is it okay if I go inside and busy myself with something? They could still talk in peace._

"What do you take me for? I _won't_ kill him! Though clearly that's what the bastard would deserve, if you ask me. Or any sane men, actually."

Jason stepped inside and closed the door behind himself as silently as he could. It was chilly outside, and he had more than enough of walking… but mostly, he just wanted to be near Pythagoras. He didn't want to eavesdrop on them. He truly did not. But…

Suddenly, a thought hit him and it made Jason freeze on the spot.

He couldn't hear Pythagoras's muttering. _At all._ No matter how much he strained his ears.

Out of curiosity, he took a deep breath, then another… but nothing. Couldn't scent anything in particular, either.

The sun had set, but his senses were still no different from those of an ordinary human.

He was free of the curse. At last!

Jason sighed as he raked a hand through his hair. He had though he would celebrate the day – or rather, night – when the curse finally stops being an issue, but now that it had come to pass, he had to admit that he was sort of sad to let it go. He felt awful for getting cursed in the first place (he shouldn't have tried to steal food; he had known, he had fucking _known_ that stealing is bad) and turning into a rabid dog was terribly humiliating – but possessing superhuman abilities had not been that bad. The worst thing that had happened because of it was the mortifying incident in the bushes… but even that had had its use: it forced Jason to finally come clean to Pythagoras. Looking back, Jason had been stalling terribly and maybe he would have never gathered up his courage to confront Pythagoras without this added pressure.

And after the events of that day, Jason had a fairly lot ideas about how he could have put those super-senses to good use. But right now, he would have been content with just enhanced hearing.

He contemplated knocking on the door but decided against it. Instead, he took off his cloak, drank a cup of water and ate an apple that he'd grabbed from the table. He knocked on the table and made as much subtle but obvious noise as he could to let the others know that he was home.

Sure enough, there was a sudden pause… but then Hercules kept on talking, and he didn't bother lowering his voice.

"Don't mind him, you're speaking to _me_ now. So. Where did the guy live before he'd lost his wealth?" Pythagoras must have answered something because Hercules let out a snort. "I know that place. And you said he was a historian? Right. Okay, I think I know who our man is. "Hushed whispers followed, then: "No, don't fret boy. I know better than to get ourselves in more trouble. I'm just going to… have a _friendly _chat with him."

The way he'd said the last sentence made Jason shiver. He recalled what Pythagoras had told him about the last time Hercules had gone on a revenge mission, and was suddenly very relieved that he probably wasn't ever going to experience what it was to be on the man's bad side.

And this bastard who had hurt Pythagoras? Jason was sure he would regret what he did for the rest of his life.

"Have some faith in me, kiddo! As much as I'd love to slaughter him like a pig, I value our lives. So I'm not gonna rip him in half, nor will I beat him up. You have my word. But if you think I'm just going to let him walk away without a word… Jason, my boy, would you stop loitering around already?"

Jason straightened up so sharply he nearly stumbled and fell on his arse. Fuck, he didn't even realise he'd stopped pacing to listen behind the door.

The tip of his ears burning with heat, he did his best to look nonchalant as he opened the door wide and looked inside, only to be met with a slightly annoyed Hercules and a startled Pythagoras. They were sitting on the bed: Hercules at the corner with his back straight and arms crossed in front of his chest, Pythagoras by the headboard with his legs pulled up in front of himself, small and shy.

"I'm sorry," Jason said hastily, willing the heat to leave his face already. "I didn't mean to–"

"No harm done. We were almost finished, anyway." Hercules shook his head, then stood up and patted his clothes free of non-existent dust. "Well, I still have an errand to run but you boys should put yourselves in bed. Don't wait up for me."

Before he could have started for the door, Pythagoras reached out and grabbed his wrist, holding him in place.

"Hercules," he said, but even though his mouth worked, no further words came out. His blue eyes were wide, expression afraid, and as Jason alternated his gaze between him and Hercules, he was fairly convinced that there was a whole unspoken discussion still going on between the two of them.

For a while, Hercules didn't say anything… but then his eyes softened, and he surprised Jason by winding an arm around Pythagoras' skinny shoulders and pulling him into a gentle hug.

He didn't offer anything, at least not with spoken words, yet Pythagoras relaxed into the hug. He let Hercules' arm slip free of his hold, and the man used his now free hand to brush the blond mop of hair affectionately.

"Good night, lad." A dark eye squinted at Jason. "Keep an eye on him, would you?" Then, as soon as he collected a nod from Jason, he was out of the room. A second later, they could hear the front door closing.

Pythagoras stared after his friend in bewilderment. After a while, he took a deep breath and said, "He's going to murder him. He's going to _murder _him. Oh gods. We shouldn't have left him walk out of that room."

"Hey, relax," Jason said with more ease than what he'd actually felt. "Hercules is not an idiot. He knows what's at stake. He won't risk harming us by doing something reckless."

"Murdering someone is not 'reckless', Jason."

Since he figured that admitting that he'd have loved to join Hercules in his hunt for that arsehole probably would have only made things worse, Jason just shrugged.

A few moments have passed in silence, until Pythagoras finally turned to look at Jason. "I'm sorry we kicked you out of the house."

"What are you talking about? You didn't kick me out. I left on my own accord to give you some privacy." Jason hesitated for a smoment before settling down next to Pythagoras. "Did you tell him everything?"

The mathematician nodded. "I knew he wouldn't leave me alone until he got a lead on that man. I knew he would run off the moment he caught his scent. That's why I didn't want him to know about it, but… but still, I… I'm happy he knows." He glanced up at Jason. "Is that weird?"

"Not at all."

He was rewarded with a small smile.

"And where did you go?" Pythagoras asked then, his voice considerably lighter.

"The Temple of Poseidon. It was rather quiet, but I didn't mind it. It was good to have some time to think."

Pythagoras nodded and didn't seem to question Jason's sincerity. Well, not that Jason was lying. He wasn't. He just didn't share that he'd talked with Ariadne while staying in the temple.

He wanted to tell Pythagoras about it, of course, but the time was not right for it. Later. Later, he would tell him everything.

"I really should go to sleep," Pythagoras said in the end, getting up from the bed. "It was a draining day and I want to get up early tomorrow."

"Why?"

"I'm going to the forest to collect some herbs. I need to make new draughts and salves, not to mention more tonics for Aiolos' daughter, and I prefer gathering the necessary plants at dawn or early morning."

"Can I go with you?"

Jason had surprised Pythagoras with the sudden request as much as he'd surprised himself, but… he found that yes; actually, he'd have really loved to accompany him. He couldn't say why.

"If you would like to," the mathematician answered slowly, clearly having a hard time to believe it to be true. "But usually you are still fast asleep when I get_ back_, not to mention when I'm leaving."

"It doesn't matter. I'd love to. Please, wake me up."

Pythagoras shrugged. "As you wish."

No matter how nonchalant he tried to be, Jason could detect warmth and gratitude softening the bright blue eyes. The sight made his own heart flutter.

* * *

><p>Much later, Jason woke with a full-body shudder.<p>

At first, he didn't know what had happened. He had been dreaming – something pleasant, far as he could tell – but the details of it were already slipping out of his grasp. It took him a moment to realise that his eyes were, in fact, open; he just couldn't see anything in the thick darkness of the room. Small, rapid breathing could be heard from somewhere close however, and a warm weight was squeezing his right shoulder. Jason licked his dry lips and turned toward the source of the soft noise. Next to his bed, huge eyes glittered in the faint moonlight.

"I'm sorry," Pythagoras whispered. His voice was deep and rough. "I didn't want to wake you, but… I couldn't…" He let out a shaky breath, eyes disappearing to the dark as he closed them. "W-would you allow me to sleep with you? Just this once, I promise. I, I tried falling back asleep but…"

Without a word, Jason moved to the side of his bed and raised the covers. Pythagoras opened his eyes again, glanced down at the obvious invitation and hesitated only for a second before slipping under the blankets. He was tense, but as soon as Jason throw and arm around his waist and pulled him close, Pythagoras allowed himself to relax.

Sleep-fog sat thickly on Jason's mind, but even so, he had a good idea of what must have been behind his friend's request. Too tired for a proper kiss of comfort but wanting to chase the nightmares away nonetheless, he brushed his lips against Pythagoras' forehead.

At once, Pythagoras all but _melted_ against him. His fingers searched blindly for Jason's hand, and upon finding it, they wrapped themselves firmly around his wrist.

Jason felt rather than heard the mumbled, "Thank you."

More comfortable than he had felt in a long time, Jason drifted back to sleep within seconds.

* * *

><p>xxx<p>

* * *

><p>Pythagoras was usually quick to awake with the sun, but on those days when he had to get up before dawn for whatever necessities, blinking out the remnants of sleep from his eyes had always taken longer. This day was not an exception. His eyelids felt heavy as he drowsily blinked three or four times, trying to get used to the darkness. Usually he could make out at least vague shapes and silhouettes, but now that was not the case.<p>

He was exceptionally comfortable in the bed. And I was really warm. Like, surprisingly so. Heat covered him like a thick blanket, so much he had actually sweated during the night, forehead damp where it pressed against a frim pillow.

Pythagoras let his eyes fell close, allowing for a last moment of perfect peace before getting up. He hummed softly and burrowed his face deeper into the pillow.

That is, until the pillow moved and muttered incomprehensible words into his hair.

Pythagoras' eyes snapped open. Suddenly, he was achingly aware of the strong arm wrapped loosely around his waist, the leg lying on top of his own and the even huffs of breaths that tickled his forehead with every falling of the chest he was snugly resting against.

Oh. That's right. After tearing himself out of a nightmare about his assault, Pythagoras had asked Jason to let him into his bed.

He hadn't been thinking straight back then; in his fully awake state, Pythagoras was embarrassed beyond words for his actions. But during the night he had been restless and terrified. Panic had flooded his insides and numbed his body from reliving the terrible experience. His entire body had been shaking, and he'd thought he might go mad if he had to spend another minute alone.

He'd been insanely relieved when he'd slipped into Jason's bed and the man curled protectively around him. He'd never felt so _safe_. Wait, that wasn't exactly true. He _had_ experienced this before – when they slept together during their travel back from Helios.

Pythagoras wondered if it was a special ability Jason seemed to possess naturally.

He pulled back a bit and strained his head so he could look up at the man. He couldn't see much of Jason's face in the dark, but a small band of light fell on his cheek like a silver stripe, highlighting the dark stubble of his jaw and the corner of his open mouth. Before he could have stopped himself, Pythagoras reached up to touch the mesmerising lower lip.

It was dry and slightly chapped, and the warm breath that gushed out from behind it made Pythagoras's hand jerk in surprise. Jason's mouth parted further and the mathematician touched a slick, moist spot on the inner side of that lip. His fingertip tingled from the unexpected contact, and his stomach tightened around a knot.

Cheeks warming up, Pythagoras pulled his hand away and gently extracted himself from Jason's arms. The room felt chilly without Jason's heat around him, but he ignored it and stood up to flex his body. Immediately, Jason grunted and prodded for Pythagoras on the sheets. The sight was oddly precious, and it made Pythagoras smile.

The mathematician had already washed his face with a wet cloth, used the chamber pot and prepared the basket and containers for the plants gathering by the time he remembered that Jason had asked to accompany him.

He briefly contemplated leaving Jason to sleep and explaining it away by claiming that the man wouldn't wake up… but the thought didn't sit well with him. What was more, he realised that he'd have been really happy to enjoy Jason's company.

So he went back to Jason's corner and touched his shoulder, squeezing gently. "Jason. Wake up."

The man murmured something under his breath but otherwise gave no indication that he was waking up, so Pythagoras squeezed again, more forcefully this time.

"Jason. If you don't wake up, I'm going to leave you behind and go by myself."

In a way, it was good to know that Jason was sleeping so deeply. It definitely proved that the curse was almost gone, if not completely. Pythagoras had no doubts that a few nights ago his mere presence would have been enough to kick off his friend's Kynikoi instincts; Jason himself had told Pythagoras that he had barely slept at nights because of the overwhelming effect of the sensations. Seeing with his own eyes that this had not been the case anymore was definitely reassuring.

Pythagoras smiled when Jason opened his eyes and blinked up drowsily at him.

"Don't go. I'm up." His voice was rough from sleep, and the sound did funny things to Pythagoras' stomach. "Mmmh. 'Morning, Pythagoras."

"Good morning, Jason."

Pythagoras went back to his room and busied himself while Jason got up and went through his morning routine – though a sped up version, he could tell it. They both put on their cloaks because the mornings were a bit chilly, then locked the front door and left the house.

Jason was obviously not used to being up so early, and he murmured something along the lines of "I'd kill for some coffee right now". Pythagoras refrained from commenting. (This was certainly not the first time Jason had mentioned the thing, and he had always become flustered whenever Pythagoras asked about it. From the vague explanations, Pythagoras had gathered that coffee was some kind of special drink from his friend's homeland – associated with waking up or getting the head cleared, if he interpreted Jason's throwaway comments accurately – but the man had been awfully sure that it couldn't possibly be found in Atlantis.) Instead, he asked about the other topic that had escaped their conversations completely during the past day.

"Has the curse faded yet?"

Jason's eyelashes flickered as he glanced at Pythagoras, and the mathematician thought he saw something in his gaze before Jason made a tiny nod of agreement. "Almost completely."

"Good."

"You know, I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but… I think I'm going to miss it. Not the curse, per se," he added hastily when Pythagoras opened his mouth to cut in. "And not the freaking over-sensitivity. Turning into a wolf was terribly dangerous and I'd have never forgiven myself if I harmed you. I mean, any of you. Anyone, really." His cheeks turned pinkish, a sight that Pythagoras found endearing. "And the first couple of night after getting the cure had been extremely draining. I'd never wanted to know how Hercules' scent changes when he eats different food, for example, or how our neighbours moan at night when… Um. But… but still, I was physically stronger. I could never trust my instincts that much. And my reaction time was _amazing._ I keep thinking that if only I could keep those aspects of it, I could do a better job protecting you."

Pythagoras nearly stopped in his track. He bore his gaze into Jason, and though he had no idea what kind of face he must have been making, the sight of it made Jason drop his yes.

"Jason, it's not your job to protect us."

"I know. I just… We aren't exactly living a danger-free life and I want you to be safe. And I want to trust myself that I can keep you that way."

"We already trust you with that," Pythagoras clarified, surprised that apparently this had to be pointed out. "To the extents of your abilities, you will always keep us safe. We know that. But the same goes for Hercules and I, too."

"But I've been a burden on you for so long! I hardly knew anything when I arrived here and I'm still not that good with a sword. I'm not saying I have zero confidence in myself, it's just… the last couple of days, I was something _better._ And if I could keep that and use it to take better care of you and Hercules, that would be… nice." Jason finished off with another shrug, then started examining the road as if it had been the single most exciting sight he had ever scene.

At times like this, Pythagoras couldn't comprehend how an otherwise bright man could entertain such stupid thoughts.

"Do you think I'm a burden?"

Jason snapped his head up. "What? Of course not!"

"I am hardly a swordsman, and nor do I make up for it with prowess or sheer strength. Do you think I am entirely incapable of protecting you and Hercules, then?"

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you have meant. Do you think less of me for not being able to protect you guys properly? To protect _myself,_ if we are at it?"

"No, of course not." Jason stopped and turned around to face Pythagoras, his expression a mess of different emotions. "But Pythagoras, that's a different–"

"Do you think Hercules should find a way to enhance his abilities to ensure that we have better chances in life? Shouldn't we _all _do that? I'm sure we could find a way. Maybe ask the Oracle for help…"

Jason's forehead wrinkled on a frown – and okay, now he was definitely irritated.

"Don't make fun of me. It's not the same."

"It _is_ the same, Jason," Pythagoras insisted. Had it not for the basket in his hand, he would have crossed his arms for good measure, but he had to settle for an unflinching glare. "We are not gods. We are not invincible, not by far – but that doesn't mean we need to rely on magic or wonders. We just have to do our best. That will be enough."

His friend still didn't look convinced, but at least his irritation seemed to dissolve. After a few moments of glaring at each other, Jason shook his head and let out a small snort. "It's stupid arguing about it, anyway. As I've said, I don't really have anything left of the curse. And it's not like I could stop it from fading away. Or that I… _would_."

Pythagoras studies his friend in silence. He sensed that there was something more to this sudden desire to be stronger, but he didn't see it right away.

When he finally did, his breath caught in his throat.

Pythagoras's shoulders slouched. When he next spoke, the words came out softer and quieter than he had intended.

"Is this because of what happened to me yesterday? Are you beating yourself up for not being able to protect me from that?"

Jason's Adam apple bobbed as he swallowed, his entire posture tensing up. He was avoiding eye contact with Pythagoras, but that and the hard set of his mouth was an answer on its own.

He probably realised that because he muttered a tentative, "Maybe."

Pythagoras was not an idiot. He was aware that the events of the day before would affect not only him but his friends, too. He had seen it on Jason's face and he had seen it on Hercules'. (And dear gods, fear still ate at his heart that Hercules had possible went on full revenge mode and done something _very stupid_ over the night. The mathematician worried what he might have to learn when facing the man later on that morning. He didn't want constant fear of retribution to cloud his days; he just wanted to put the whole ordeal behind and not think about it anymore.)

But never had he imagined that Jason would become so guilt-ridden he would actually prefer staying cursed just to have means of preventing it from happening again. It was so very _Jason _– and Pythagoras was torn between wanting to kiss the man and wanting to smash something against his thick skull.

"That was not on you," Pythagoras said in the end. He stepped closer to his friend, and did not continue until he had Jason's eyes on him. "And not on me, either. There are always people like that, you've said so yourself. And you could have all the power of the world and it would _still _be impossible for you to shield me – or anyone, for that matter – from this."

"I know." But he didn't look like he knew. With his mind, perhaps. But not with his heart.

"Bad things _happen_, Jason. It's the way of life. And what happened yesterday hurt me greatly, but it was hardly a first. You have no idea how many times I have wished for more power, but I had learnt by now that it's not the answer. Not for myself, and not for others… no matter how dear they are to my heart."

"I know it's stupid," Jason confessed. "I don't actually wish to stay cursed. Or get another freaky spell to turn my life upside down. If a god ever appeared in front of me and offered to make me more powerful, I would either punch them in the face or turn around and run, because whatever the gods touch, it always ends in a mess. _I know_. It's… irrational. But I'm working on it."

"I know you are." Pythagoras smiled warmly at Jason and squeezed his shoulder. "And I want you know that I _am_ grateful. You've put me back together yesterday and your wish to protect me warms my heart. But I don't want you to feel guilt over what happened. And I don't want you to do anything stupid or reckless. For the love of the gods, it's exhausting enough to manage Hercules." He worried his lower lip, but then decided to proceed anyway despite not really wanting to bring up their brief but intense fight. "Think about what you told me yesterday when I wanted to push you away in an attempt to protect you. This is the same."

His words had the desired effect. Though Jason's face clouded over for a second at the mention of their argument, after a while, the tension finally evaporated from his body. An affectionate smile found its way onto her face and his eyes twinkled in silent gratitude.

"Okay." Then, after a brief moment of hesitation, he leant forward and kissed Pythagoras on the lips soundly. "Thank you."

They continued their quiescent walk to the forest in comfortable silence, but Pythagoras felt like floating over the ground, just like any other time when Jason kissed him. Even if his friend had noticed, he thankfully let it go without mention.

But Pythagoras could detect some smugness to his smile, and it made butterflies flutter in his stomach.

* * *

><p>Not long after, the sun was taking its place on the dawning sky, bathing the forest in soft golden-orange light. The dark green leaves turned brighter and clearer, the air gradually lost is chilliness and the inhabitants of the place soon started filling up the silence with beautiful natural sounds. After a dry night, there was little to no dew sitting on the plants, which was great; no matter how pretty the sparkling waterdrops could be at dawn, herbs were better collected when dry.<p>

Jason didn't have any knowledge of herbal medicine but after Pythagoras had showed him what kind of flowers, leaves, roots and occasional fruits they were looking for, he made an efficient job finding them. The containers were half full when they left the woods in favour of the clearing Pythagoras often frequented. Aside from the much needed flowers and seeds, the mathematician has also collected a nice amount of mushrooms. They weren't his favourite, but he knew that Hercules really loved them. He could make stew for his friend later.

Pythagoras was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Jason stopping until the man suddenly said, "I've talked to Ariadne."

It took him a few seconds to comprehend the meaning of the words. When he did, Pythagoras turned around so fast he could hear his neck crack.

"What? When?"

"Last night. While I was staying in the Temple of Poseidon." Jason was lying on the ground right beside a huge tree, decidedly not looking at Pythagoras and instead staring up absently at the wide, green crown, hands crossed under his head. "I wasn't planning on talking to her just yet but she was there, and… it kind of happened."

"Oh."

Pythagoras didn't know how to respond. His mind was already whirling with ideas, fears, explanations… There had to be a reason for Jason to bring this up, but he did his best to not jump onto the conclusion he so desperately wanted to get.

Jason loved the princess tenderly. Pythagoras was fully aware of and did not have any misconceptions about this fact, nor did he believe that Jason's newfound attraction toward him did anything to erase what he'd felt for her.

It was obvious however that by bringing her up, Jason wanted to share something with Pythagoras. He could only wait until his friend revealed what it was, but the mathematician found it extremely hard not to give in either to hope or dread.

"You know, I used to see her a lot more often," Jason was saying, pulling Pythagoras out of his thoughts. "Not_ that_ often, obviously. She's a princess, after all. But I used to think about her every other day, and I sometimes visited the temple just to see if I could catch a glimpse of her. Even if we couldn't talk, seeing her made me content. And when she sometimes noticed me and smiled… that made me happy."

Pythagoras didn't think Jason wanted him to comment on that, so remained silent. There wasn't anything he could have said, anyway. He bowed his head and fixed his gaze in the flower in his hand. (Somehow, it didn't look as beautiful as it had moment before.)

"Today was the first time that seeing her made me feel awful. I almost turned on the spot and run out of the place just so I didn't have to speak with her."

"I'm sorry," Pythagoras muttered. "I didn't want you to feel guilt for–"

"That's not what I'm saying," Jason cut in firmly. "I mean, yeah, I was more than a bit embarrassed and possibly even guilty. But that's not the point. Don't feel bad about it."

Pythagoras couldn't_ not_ feel bad about it, but he swallowed back the apologies and nodded, even knowing that Jason wasn't looking at him.

"The point is, I've never really realised how I stopped missing her." Jason said that with something akin to surprise, like he was still wrapping his head around it. "It must have been around the time we went on that errand to Helios. I still thought about her that time, but from then on, she was present less and less in my thoughts. I gradually stopped wishing I could see her more. Actually… I barely even thought about her between Helios and when I saw her again last week."

_That's because you've been far too preoccupied by worrying about what you had learnt about my feelings_, Pythagoras wanted to point out. _It's hardly a surprise that you have stopped pining after the princess when you have been busy freaking out over the realisation that your best friend is in love with you. _

But he didn't say a word, and Jason seemed content enough with that.

"I guess you could say that Ariadne was something like a happy fantasy for me. I fantasised about proving my worth to her father, getting his blessing, enjoying a trouble-free life in the palace with her. But… that wasn't really me. That life is not for me. And… And I didn't need a happy fantasy anymore. I had a happy reality." Jason licked his lips and slowly turned his head to glance at Pythagoras. "I still do."

"Jason," the mathematician started, doing his best to not let his voice tremble even though his heart had jumped into his throat and seemed determined to wreck his vocal chords with its erratic beating, "what are you trying to say?"

Jason groaned. He closed his eyes, run a hand over his face and waved at Pythagoras in an obvious gesture. Pythagoras got up from his spot and crossed the distance to Jason – feeling a bit detached like walking in a lake – and kneeled on his heels beside the man. The grass was dry and his breeches prevented his legs from itching, yet he was restless and tense, fingers curling on themselves in his lap.

Jason pushed himself up to his elbows but otherwise stayed lying on the grass. For a while, he didn't say anything. His jaw clenched a few times as if he was working himself up for something – and when he finally let the words flow out, Pythagoras's brain stopped working.

"I told Ariadne that I fell for someone."

Pythagoras' mouth fell open but no sound came out.

Jason lowered his lashes, his cheeks warming up visibly. "I can't say she took it well, though it was still much better than what I'd expected. But I made sure that she understood that my feelings for her hadn't changed. That I loved her still. Just… _I _changed, as a whole. As a person. And when it came to making decisions, I had chosen a different path."

Pythagoras couldn't do anything but stare at his friend like a frozen statue. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to believe, oh, he wanted to believe so much but he was afraid of jumping to conclusions. He shouldn't; it was too soon, too much…

Jason searched for Pythagoras' gaze and held it. By now the clearing was lit enough to allow the mathematician to see the pink spots on Jason's cheeks, the worried lines on his face, the constant clenching and unclenching of his fist – his eyes, however, were clear and serious.

"You shouldn't have done that," Pythagoras found himself saying. "It's way too soon and I don't… I never expected you to sa–"

"I am aware," Jason cut in. "I know you didn't, but _I _did. And truth to be told, I should have done it much sooner. I still care for her, of course; that won't go away. But if I'm completely honest with myself, I'd known for some time that she and I won't work out and I still kept putting off this talk. So I'm glad I finally went through it. I feel… I'm not sure. Lighter, I guess."

"But… But Jason, if we… If _this_ doesn't turn out the way we might expect right now, the princess won't be…" He trailed off as a sudden thought hit him in the end. "Did you tell her it was… Did you tell her about me?"

Jason shook his head. Pythagoras was about to release a sigh of relief when his friend clarified, "I didn't need to. She knew."

"_What?_"

"Don't look at me like that; I'm sure I didn't let anything slip. Somehow, she worked it out herself." Jason shook his head, a small smile of amusement pulling up the corners of his mouth as he squinted up at Pythagoras. "You never told me you've set yourself on fire for me."

Later he might be embarrassed for being so dumbfounded, but in that moment Pythagoras could only blink stupidly. "W-what?"

"She told me you'd set yourself on fire to distract the guards while Hercules approached her."

"Oh."

Yes, they did forget to tell Jason about that. To be honest, Pythagoras had all but forgotten about it himself. It hadn't seemed like such a huge deal worth mentioning.

By the look on Jason's face, he could tell that his friend would have begged to differ.

Pythagoras was torn. On side, he was so happy he wanted to jump on the man and kiss him senseless, telling without words just how grateful he was, just how happy he'd made him – but on the other hand, he wanted the earth to swallow him. Jason had made a big risk, and now he wouldn't have a chance with the princess even if he decided that he wasn't actually capable of having a romantic relationship with Pythagoras. It had only been a few days since they'd actually starting thinking and talking about it (not counting all the preceding months, because that had only been Pythagoras and his wishful fantasies), and Jason shouldn't have made such a huge decision so early on in their relationship.

But the face he wore wasn't that of an unsure man. Jason seemed content enough, as if a huge weigh had been lifted from his shoulders. And even if he disagreed with this kind of rushing, Pythagoras couldn't fault Jason for making active steps toward something he apparently wanted.

He startled when a touch fell on his hand. Pythagoras glanced down at the hand that had curled around his wrist, then back to Jason who was watching him intently.

Jason gave him a small but obvious tug, and Pythagoras went willingly, breathing out a happy sigh at the first brush of their mouths.

No matter how many kisses they had shared since their first (well, actually second, but since the very first had been nothing more but the result of Hercules meddling with things he had no right to meddle with, Pythagoras didn't count it as such) it never failed to warm Pythagoras up from head to toe. He felt dizzy, drunk on the feeling of Jason's mouth moving with his own, and he had a suspicion that he wouldn't get used to the sensation for a long, long time.

He let Jason pull him close, rearrange them in a more comfortable position, and he poured all his gratitude and love into the languid movements of their lips.

Kissing Jason was amazing. Kissing Jason was everything Pythagoras had ever imagined, and _so much more_. At times, he was still half-convinced that this was all just an elaborate dream, simply because there was no way his life could have taken such a breath-taking turn – but small stones were pressing painfully against his knees, he could hear the thud Jason's head made when it fell back against the ground, his neck had started to cramp up from the awkward position… and from that, he knew that it was all real. Messy and imperfect; and thus, _perfect._

Jason let out a sound of appreciation when Pythagoras boldly licked into his mouth, and that only served to fuel the fire that had been burning the mathematician from inside out. Jason was a furnace, a constant stream of heat, and Pythagoras wanted to melt into him. The kiss turned feverish the more he let his long-suppressed hunger get the better of him; Jason's arms were now curling around his body, raking fingers over his back before settling down on either side of Pythagoras' hips. His own hands were itching to grasp Jason and touch his firm chest, his strong arms, but he couldn't move them from the ground unless he wanted to lose his balance.

Instead, he allowed himself to touch with his lips. Mouth trailing to the side, he pressed wet kisses to Jason's jaw, the line of his neck, his shoulder… He couldn't help but bite down lightly on Jason's prominent collarbone, and it evoked a startled whimper from the man that shoot straight into Pythagoras' cock.

Jason froze, but Pythagoras was so high on the sensations that he didn't notice it immediately. He made a tight, keening noise against Jason's neck, his hips bucked forward involuntary, seeking friction – but then he realised he was rock hard in his breeches and _then_ he finally took notice of the sudden rigidness of Jason's body.

Oh. Oh, shit.

Pythagoras snapped his head back with a gasp and straightened up to put some distance between them. He had to discover however that it was not as easy as he'd thought: sometime during their frantic kissing session, they had ended up with Jason once again lying on his back with Pythagoras straddling his hips. Glancing down, the mathematician nearly choked on his tongue from the sight, and he could feel the tip of his ears burning just as hot as his cheeks.

"Sorry," he murmured, mortified beyond words. He usually wasn't so wanton.

Though logically he knew that he wasn't to blame himself for his body's reactions, he should have known better than to bump so much on Jason so suddenly. The man was already stretching his previous limits beyond words, testing something he had been comfortable with just for the sake of his affection for Pythagoras. There was no reason to overwhelm him. Pythagoras should have been damn grateful for what he already had and not serve as further pressure for his friend.

"I mean it. I'm very sorry."

Fighting a furious blush, Pythagoras made an attempt to lift himself up and get off, but Jason grabbed his wrist and turned to stare at him with blazing eyes.

"Wait," he said, breathless.

Pythagoras couldn't have turned away if Zeus himself commanded him to do it. He locked eyes with his friend even knowing that his face must have been bright red, his gaze probably huge and lust-blown, and if Jason's swollen mouth was anything to go by, his own must have been in a similarly well-kissed state.

Pythagoras held his breath, unmoving… until he felt Jason harden against him, at which point his breath caught in his throat. The thickening wasn't exactly subtle, and the knowledge that he was the cause of Jason's arousal fed the fiery beast that was raging near uncontrollably in his abdomen. His mouth fell open on a soundless moan, and it took all his willpower not to press down and start rocking their groins together.

Jason's eyes were so black there was only a thin ring of hazel left around the pupils. His breathing came in harsh, short puffs through his nose.

Pythagoras gulped loudly and made another attempt to lift his weight off of Jason, but the man was having none of it. His hold on Pythagoras' wrist tightened, hot fingertips nearly burning their marks into the mathematician's skin.

"Don't." Jason's voice was deeper than usual, rough and husky, and he looked terrified. Still, he elaborated: "Don't pull away. I… I have to get used to it, anyway." He bit his reddened lip and corrected himself. "I _want to_ get used to it."

At a loss of what to say, Pythagoras could only nod.

He felt dizzy. It wasn't exactly warm at so early in the morning, yet he was unbelievably hot under the cloak: he could feel his damp hair sticking to his forehead, sweat rolling down his back, heat gathering under his armpits and most of all, in his breeches. His entire body was pulsating hotly with every beat of his heart – he could have sworn Jason was able to hear the erratic thumping.

If he did, Jason didn't seem to mind. Apparently, he was incapable of taking his eyes off of Pythagoras: he stared up at him like the mathematician was the centre of the universe. After taking several deep breaths, he raised himself from the ground just the tiniest bit, and when Pythagoras shuddered violently at the sudden friction, Jason exhaled loudly.

"There is no rush," Pythagoras rasped out. His mouth was so dry he could barely move it around the words. "I am content with kissing. If you are trying to hurry this for my sake alone…"

Jason shook his head firmly. Then, he raised his hips again and Pythagoras bit down on a curse when he couldn't help but rock down against the delicious hardness. It was so good, so good. It took all his willpower to force his body to a halt.

He inhaled slowly to calm himself, then leant down to press his forehead against Jason's. His friend was burning hot, like he was running a fever, and he was shaking ever so slightly. He was at a loss of what to do. He had admitted that much after wetting his lips.

"It's okay," Pythagoras whispered. He was at a loss, too. He had never been with such an inexperienced partner, and was terrified of breaking the massive trust Jason was placing in him. "Kissing was okay, right? Let's go back to that."

He caught Jason's lips with his own and Jason responded immediately, head arching up to press, to drag, to slide a wet tongue into the hot inside of Pythagoras' mouth.

After a few moments of sound kissing, Jason finally relaxed against him. Never pulling his mouth away, Pythagoras searched blindly for his friend's hands, and upon finding them, he threaded their fingers together before pushing them onto the ground on either side of Jason's head. The position sent a new wave of excitement rushing through his veins. He had never been in such a dominating position. Nobody had ever let him.

He parted from Jason only when the strain in the back of his neck had become near unbearable, and even then he just rotated his head a few times, trying to get rid of the ache. Jason used that time to gaze up at him with half-lidded eyes and to swipe a wet tongue over Pythagoras' plump lips.

"Damn it, Jason." Pythagoras closed his eyes against a full-body shiver. "You aren't making this easy."

"It doesn't have to be easy."

_We shall see._

Pythagoras pressed one more kiss to Jason's mouth before straightening up, then squeezed Jason's sweaty palms and rolled his hips experimentally. Jason's fingers jerked at the motion, and a hissing sound slipped through his mouth, not unlike Pythagoras'. When the mathematician found the darkened eyes of his friend, he raised his eyebrow in a wordless question.

After a second Jason nodded, his expression open and trusting.

Pythagoras wanted to be worthy of that trust. His heart swelled so much he could feel it drumming against the cage of his ribs.

Slowly, never letting go of Jason's hands, he started moving on the man. He rocked back and forth, pressed down once, twice, three times, then eased off his weight before pressing down again, more firmly this time. He rotated his hips in circular motions, and when Jason's breath hitched at that, he repeated it with more confidence, earning a breathless moan from his friend.

This was new territory even for Pythagoras. In his experience, every partner had only been interested in either his arse or his mouth, and nobody had ever attempted to reach pleasure with friction alone. He knew how to move on top of a man, how to use his hips to ride their cock the best, but this was completely different. And he was _in control._ He held Jason's hands and the man didn't attempt to direct him, didn't tell him how to move. That was… really strange and yet very exciting. Pythagoras still couldn't wrap his head around it.

In some ways, this was similar to the early days when he had been experimenting with Naos. They hadn't had sex for the sake of sex – they had just tried new things, to see what they liked and what they didn't. To see how they could find pleasure in their own bodies, as well as in each other's.

Pythagoras pushed the thought of his old friend away to concentrate fully on Jason. Oh, _this_, he liked. He liked it very much. He had no idea that even without being naked, even without having any part of his body on Jason's naked skin, he could experience so much pleasure. His veins were on fire, blood surely boiling by then.

Watching Jason's face – reddened cheeks, crazy eyes, mess of a hair – Pythagoras came to the conclusion that his friend must have felt the same. Blue eyes flickered down to the mesmerising sight of swollen lips, and Pythagoras' tongue darted out, finding himself _starving _for a taste.

Jason had obviously seen it, because the next second he let go of Pythagoras' hands, pushed himself up from the ground and attached his mouth to the mathematician's with one swift motion. He couldn't have found any resistance when sinking into the wet heat of Pythagoras' mouth, for the blond man's lips opened on a moan the moment their groins rubbed together in the new position.

"Fuck, you're so…" Jason breathed against his lips, breath hot and moist. "Sexy. Oh, Christ, fu– Aah!"

Pythagoras grinned at the sudden exclamation. He rocked forward again, then again and again, gradually picking up a fast pace that had Jason groaning and shaking uncontrollably. After months of knowing the man, Pythagoras knew that this Christ (or Jesus as his friend had sometimes called him) must have been a significant deity in Jason's religion, and though he usually felt mild irritation at the profane usage of the name, in that moment he felt nothing but pride. It was really exciting to reduce Jason to a swearing mess.

Thanks to their new pose he didn't have to brace himself on the ground anymore, so Pythagoras pushed one hand into Jason's hair (which was damp, and bits of grass had gotten tangled in the dark curls, he was amused to discover) and snaked the other to Jason's back under the cloak. His back was scorching hot, and even through the tunic Pythagoras could feel sweat dampening the material.

Jason's cock was so hard against him, so hard. Pythagoras rolled and rocked, rubbing his arse against the firm bulge and throwing his head back at the sudden spark of fire than coursed through him. His stomach clenched up, guts swirling and coiling madly at the heat. He almost felt sick from the strength of his desire, except it was good, great, _mind-blowing._

"Oh gods," he keened.

His hands itched to touch more of Jason; to slid his palms under his clothes and press his fingertips against naked skin, or perhaps to reach for the burning-hot bulge between them and squeeze… yes, that would be so good… but Pythagoras refrained from giving in to that desire. Jason wasn't ready, he'd already stepped completely out of his comfort zone, and Pythagoras wasn't going to take more. Even without that, this had been a miracle enough.

He opened his eyes and stared at the bright blue sky for a second before turning back toward his friend. When he did, his heart skipped a beat, and if he was blushing before now his face caught on fire.

Jason was staring blatantly at Pythagoras' crotch, eyeing the hard lines of his cock that was straining so obviously against the breeches. One layer was not nearly enough to hide it from plain sight, and though there was no way to tell what had been going on in Jason's head, his eyes were black like liquid ink, huge and _hungry_ – if still a bit embarrassed. To have that intense gaze focusing so much on the proof of his enjoyment made Pythagoras' shaft twitch, and when Jason wet his lips absently, the sight sent hot sparks rushing throughout his body. Pythagoras whimpered, his hips bucked forward harder than intended, and they promptly lost the so far consistent rhythm.

Jason hissed. His lust-blown eyes travelled up to meet Pythagoras', stared for a long moment, then dropped down again.

"C-can you… Can you come just from this?"

Oh fuck _fuck_. The sound of that rough voice had very nearly been his undoing. Pythagoras briefly contemplated telling the man this much but decided against it. Repeating those words would have surely pushed him through the edge.

But he nodded. One of Jason's hands brushed his cheek, and Pythagoras sighed at the contact.

He stopped for a few moments to close his eyes, take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself, then started rocking back and forth once again, more slowly this time. After a while, he opened his eyes again to check on Jason.

His friend was breathing heavily, gaze still fixed on Pythagoras' crotch. Glancing down, Pythagoras could see that the fabric of the cloth was soaked through where his cock leaked against it from the inside, the dark, damp patch growing wider with every passing second. Embarrassed but still turned on beyond words, Pythagoras flushed hotly and dug his fingers into Jason's back. The man didn't complain – he was so intent on just watching that he probably couldn't have torn his eyes away if a deity materialised behind them.

Three or four more minutes, and Pythagoras couldn't stop panting.

"Jason, I don't… I don't think I'll last much longer," he hissed through clenched teeth. "If… if you'd rather I didn't do it in front of you…"

Jason paused only for a fraction of a second. He shook his head and pressed his forehead to Pythagoras'.

"No, you can… you can go ahead." Then he looked into his eyes and repeated, firmly like an order, "Go ahead."

Pythagoras didn't need more prompting. He grasped Jason's shoulders and used him as a leverage to start pushing himself up and down with furious speed, moans and whimpers now falling freely from his mouth like an overflowing river. Jason was so close that Pythagoras was flat-out rubbing himself against the man's abdomen, but aside from a breathless "_fucking hell, Pythagoras_", Jason didn't appear to mind it in the least. The firm muscles of his belly felt amazing when Pythagoras pressed his throbbing cock to and slid up and down, up and down. If only the added layers of clothing hadn't been there, he could have enjoyed the slick slide of skin on skin – but maybe they would get to that together some other time. Maybe…

Jason suddenly dropped his hands to his hips, squeezed with bruising force and started to help Pythagoras' frantic movements, pulling the blond man impossibly close until there was no space left between their chests and urging him to go faster, faster, _faster_…

"Jason, Jason, Jason!" The name fell from his lips like a chant, sweet and heavy and soft and burning on his tongue all at once. "Oh gods, Jason! J-Jason!"

He pushed up one more time… and stayed there, back arching, head thrown back, chest flush against his friend's and fingers digging deep into his shoulders as a deep moan ripped itself free of his throat. He was pulsing hotly against Jason, warm wetness coating the inside of his breeches, and there was still no stopping the uncontrollable jerks and shudders of his body. Jason was mumbling something into his neck – encouragements, curses, endearments; Pythagoras had no idea – and held him close until he finally stopped twitching and collapsed against the man.

His head was so dizzy he was on the verge of fainting, and he didn't realise how empty his lungs had become until he swallowed around the first lungful of breath.

Pythagoras panted for air, mouth open and slack, and Jason jumped on the chance like he had been starving for it, licking into his mouth almost viciously. The mathematician was far too boneless to return it, but apparently, Jason was content enough.

He felt detached from his body; he couldn't move an inch even when Jason laid him down onto the ground. Forcing his eyes open, Pythagoras watched through his eyelashes as Jason shoved his right hand down his own breeches and pulled his cock free, giving it three or four violent jerks before he groaned and spilled into his palm. Pythagoras' mouth dried out even more as some of the thick, white substance dribbled down on Jason's wrist, only to fell to its death and disappear in the grass.

Jason took a couple of deep breaths before tucking himself back in and wiping his hand on the ground. After that, he just stared at Pythagoras.

With the crazy drumming of his heart now slowly easing off, Pythagoras couldn't help but feel his dread come crawling back in. Even on the high of his climax, he was suddenly painfully aware of what they had done – and although Jason had certainly seemed to enjoy it, maybe his body had been more ready than his mind. If it turned out that he felt like Pythagoras had pressured him into this…

He tried pushing himself up to his elbows but failed. It was as if every bone in his body had turned into mush. Also, he was now awfully aware of the sticky wetness soaking through the front his breeches and the awkward feeling made him shudder in embarrassment.

Pythagoras opened his mouth to mumble an apology… but Jason didn't allow for that. His friend's face was suddenly right there above him, leaning down to press a weak but earnest kiss onto Pythagoras' lips.

As soon as he raised his head, Jason collapsed next to him and let out a breathless chuckle.

"Fucking hell," he said with something akin to wonder. "This was… this was _insanely _hot."

Pythagoras was quite sure that he had never felt true relief until that moment.

"Do you really think so?"

Jason shot him a disbelieving look. "Man, have you been here for the last twenty or so minutes?"

The mathematician hadn't noticed the urge to giggle until it rolled off his tongue. Jason seemed surprised but joined him a second later, and that was all it took for all the doubts to leave Pythagoras completely. Jason was at ease. Jason was laughing. Surely it was safe to assume that he hadn't ruined things beyond repair, then?

"I was worried that you just got caught in the moment."

"I did," Jason clarified, but his voice was soft - if still more than a bit hoarse. "I'd have never thought we would end up doing this. But it was great. I'm okay. I feel… _amazing_, actually."

"That could be just your orgasm speaking."

"Could be. I hadn't really had one since… well, in weeks. Well before Hekate started being an issue."

"Really?" Pythagoras' eyebrows shot up in surprise, and _now_ Jason suddenly looked flustered.

"Yeah, well… it didn't feel right to touch myself while thinking about you. At least until I sort things out with myself. And I couldn't bring myself to think about anyone else, so…" He trailed off. His cheeks turned a shade darker, prompting Pythagoras to prop himself on his elbows and stare at his friend.

Jason dropped his eyes in embarrassment but Pythagoras didn't care about it. The only thing in his mind was the knowledge that Jason had _really_ been thinking about him this way since weeks, and that thinking about Pythagoras had apparently stopped him from imagining anyone else. The princess included.

His heart swelled so much it couldn't have been healthy.

Smiling like an idiot, Pythagoras moved closer to his friend. Even as he was bending down, Jason was already tilting his head up for easy access and made a happy sound when Pythagoras's lips dragged against his mouth.

They kissed slow and tender, with lips rather than tongues, and even when Jason teased the seam of Pythagoras' mouth and the mathematician opened up for him, they didn't delve too deep into it. They were both exhausted and sated beyond words, but it felt really nice to just lie there on the fragrant grass with the forest by then alive and busy, the sunlight warm and bright wherever it reached them. Pythagoras was ready to get lost in the moment and keep it playing in his head in a never ending loop. Everything was perfect.

Then words rushed out Jason's mouth in the middle of a kiss, almost as if unknowingly. There was no sound to them, none at all, but Pythagoras could feel their shape clearly – and they made his heart miss a beat, only to then fill the organ to the brim with warm, honeyed liquid as bright as gold.

It couldn't be true. Things like this never happened to Pythagoras.

But he shoved the doubts aside and cupped his friend's face with both hands, lowering his forehead to rest it against his. "I love you, Jason."

Jason's breath hitched, as if the confession had taken him by surprise. That told Pythagoras that Jason wasn't aware of what he had said – or rather, mouthed – a mere second ago. For some reason, he found that he really didn't care about it one bit.

Instead, he breathed in Jason's warm, earthy scent and hummed when the man wind his arms around him, his smile obvious against Pythagoras' neck.

The smile eventually widened into a grin, and when Jason next spoke up, he sounded surprisingly smug.

"So… when we get home, exactly what kind of explanation do you plan on feeding Hercules about the state of your trousers?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aaaand... we're almost at the end! I'm excited, though also kind of sad. But that happens a lot when I'm finishing up a fic.**

**Heads up that ch06 probably won't go up before next Sunday at earliest. I think I can finish it by Friday but my beta will need time to go through it, too. But at least we'll have 2x01 by then! :) *excited***

**Thank you so much for reading~!**


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